Insight: Check Out “South Park” Made In AI

South Park-like web-produced content is nothing new and has been on the scene for decades. At the end of the day, the series is built to be made in six days by software that is readily available. While from a legal standpoint nobody is allowed to profit off of content that is clearly South Park derivative, there is definitely value of being able to play around with tool sets and learn how to use them efficiently so that it can help inspire different creators and producers to make their own content. A great example of this is Simon Chong who was able to produce a couple minutes of Bob’s Burgers on his own that was so good it caught the attention of Loren Bouchard who hired the Welsh producer sight unseen. Now, Simon is a big time producer for the franchise and is even working on other projects outside of Bob’s Burgers. 

Whether it’s the SAG-AFTRA strike or the WGA strike, one of the big fears is the fact that AI can replace a lot of jobs, and it both can and will, regardless of what those on the picket line think. History has shown us that technological progress is a constant and you’re best bet is to learn new tools so that you can adapt or die. Check out this Tweet that showcases a thread that displays how AI prompts can be used to make South Park-like episodes. A paper was written and you can even see how close the AI-producers got to making show that could look as good on anything you can get on television.

That said, there is only Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and clearly features like jokes and whatnot are up to discernment as to whether or not an AI-produced South Park could be anywhere near as good as scratch-made. Note that the last season of South Park featured an episode partly-written in ChatGBT that was OK, but clearly a difference in quality as compared to the brilliant minds behind the franchise. Still though, it’s cool to see the possibilities of what could come down the road.

Naturally, Hollywood strikers were furious about the clip, clearly seeing a demonstration of what’s to come. Some have even sided with Paramount and the producers of South Park a bit hoping that they would sue the producers of this whitepaper (it should be noted that the producers of South Park are still in a lawsuit with WBD over whatever), though it should be noted Matt and Trey made waves last year when they launched a web3 studio of their own called Deep Voodoo. These guys clearly know what the future beholds and probably even know a lot of what is in this thread. What they do with it, is anyone’s guess.

Announcing our paper on Generative TV & Showrunner Agents!

Create episodes of TV shows with a prompt – SHOW-1 will write, animate, direct, voice, edit for you.

We used South Park FOR RESEARCH ONLY – we won’t be releasing ability to make your own South Park episodes -not our IP! pic.twitter.com/6P2WQd8SvY

— The Simulation (@fablesimulation) July 18, 2023

Synopsis:

“South Park,” created by comic geniuses Trey Parker and Matt Stone, features the breathtakingly irreverent and ruthlessly funny misadventures of four foul-mouthed, troublemaking young boys in a small town nestled in the Colorado Rockies. It has been praised by the prestigious Peabody® committee as “COMEDY CENTRAL’s notoriously rude, undeniably fearless lampoon of all that is self-important and hypocritical in American life, regardless of race, creed, color or celebrity status.” We couldn’t agree more.

“South Park” continues to surprise even its most devoted fans each and every week. Known for its unbelievably immediate and ruthless responses to world events, “South Park’s” new episodes bring up-to-the-minute news and pop culture icons (including Al Gore, J. Lo, Kanye West, Oprah, Sir Elton John, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and P. Diddy) to the town of South Park for social commentary and good old-fashioned ridicule.

“South Park” launched on August 13, 1997 and is based on the animated short entitled, “The Spirit of Christmas.” Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are Executive Producers, along with Anne Garefino and Frank C. Agnone II. Eric Stough, Adrien Beard, Bill Hader, Bruce Howell and Vernon Chatman are Producers.