South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics.[1][2] The ongoing narrative revolves around five children, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, and eventually Butters Stotch and their bizarre adventures in and around the fictional and eponymous Colorado town.[3] The town, sometimes described within the show as "a pissant white-bread mountain town",[4] is also home to assortment of characters who make frequent appearances in the show such as students and their family members, elementary school staff, and other various various residents, of which only the recurring characters are listed.[3][4]
Stan is portrayed as the everyman of the group,[5] as the show's official website describes him as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid".[6] Kyle is the lone Jew among the group, and his portrayal in this role is often dealt with satirically.[5] Stan and Kyle are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real-life friendship between South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone,[7] is a common topic throughout the series. Cartman—loud, obnoxious, and obese—is sometimes portrayed as an antagonist,[8] and whose anti-Semitic attitude has resulted in an ever-progressing rivalry with Kyle.[5] Kenny, who comes from a poor family, wears his parka hood so tightly that it covers most of his face and muffles his speech. During the show's first five seasons, Kenny would die in nearly each episode before returning in the next.
Stone and Parker voice most of the male South Park characters.[4][5][9] Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her death in 1999, near the end of the third season.[10] Eliza Schneider and Mona Marshall succeeded Bergman since 1999, and respectively 2000, with Schneider leaving the show in 2003, after the seventh season.[10] She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters.[10] Bergman was originally listed in the credits under the alias Shannen Cassidy to protect her reputation as the voice of several Disney characters.[11] Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar,[12] while Schneider was sometimes credited under her rock opera performance pseudonym Blue Girl.[13] Some South Park staff members voice other recurring characters; supervising producer Jennifer Howell voices student Bebe Stevens,[9] writing consultant Vernon Chatman voices an anthropomorphic towel named Towelie,[9] and production supervisor John Hansen voices Mr. Slave, the former gay lover of Mr. Garrison.[14] South Park producer and storyboard artist Adrien Beard, who voices Token Black, the only black kid in South Park, was recruited to voice the character "because he was the only black guy [in the] building" when Parker needed to quickly find someone to voice the character during the production of the season four (2000) episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000".[15][16]
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Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone met during a film class as students at the University of Colorado, and in 1992, they came with an idea for a show that would eventually become South Park. The two discussed filming a three-minute short film involving a boy who befriended a talking stool (feces) named Mr. Hankey.[17] Instead, Parker and Stone created two Christmas-related animated shorts films called Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa, which served as precursors to the South Park series. The low-budget, crudely made Jesus vs. Frosty film featured prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including characters resembling Cartman, Stan, and Kyle. Fox Broadcasting Company executive Brian Graden saw the film and in 1995 commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film that he could send to his friends as a video Christmas card. Titled Jesus vs. Santa, it resembled the style of the later series more closely.[18]
The video was popular and was widely shared, and when it began to generate interest for a possible television series, Parker and Stone originally conceived the idea of a South Park-like show with four children characters, but with a talking stool named Mr. Hankey as the show's main protagonist; they planned to call it The Mr. Hankey Show. Eventually, Parker and Stone adapted their original idea into a show revolving around the South Park town and four children without Mr. Hankey as a protagonist, but as a minor supporting role in a future episode.[19] Comedy Central later expressed interest in the series, and picked it up. The premiere episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", debuted on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997, as Mr. Hankey would debut in the tenth episode, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".[17][20]
In tradition with the show's cutout animation style, the characters are composed of simple geometrical shapes and uninflected patches of predominantly primary colors.[21][22] They are not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters, as they are mostly shown from only one angle, and their movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.[5][21][22] Ever since the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000", all the characters on the show have been animated with computer software, though they are portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes the original technique of cutout animation.[21]
| Character | Voiced by | Role | First appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Marsh | Trey Parker[9] | One of the original four main boys and one of South Park's more sensible characters. Stan is the everyman and the leader of the group, often portrayed as the series' main protagonist, trading that role occasionally with Kyle. | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty |
| Kyle Broflovski | Matt Stone[9] | One of the original four main boys and one of few Jewish children in South Park. Kyle and Stan are the most intelligent members of the group, and Kyle often displays higher moral standards than his friends. He is also often portrayed as the series' main protagonist, especially when it comes to stopping his "friend" Eric Cartman's nefarious schemes. | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty |
| Eric Cartman | Trey Parker[9] | One of the original four main boys, who is an obese, manipulative, ill-tempered racist and it was found out that his ego could change what he thinks happens to him in the episode fishsticks, often portrayed as the series' main antagonist. Cartman is often brilliant but with misguided motives. | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty |
| Kenny McCormick | Matt Stone[9] | One of the original four main boys and resident of a poor household. Kenny is known for his muffled speech, obsession with sex, and his habit of dying in nearly every early episode of South Park. His frequent deaths and poverty are however somewhat downplayed in later seasons. | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty |
| Character | Voiced by | Role | First appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bebe Stevens | Jennifer Howell[9] | The boys' blonde, female classmate and Wendy's best friend. | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Bradley Biggle | Matt Stone | One of the boys friends that appears in a lot of episodes in their classroom. He appears as Mint Berry Crunch in "Coon 2: Hindsight", "Mysterion Rises" and "Coon vs. Coon & Friends" and gains superpowers. | "Rainforest Shmainforest" |
| Butters Stotch | Matt Stone[9] | One of the boys' classmates who is very often involved in the antics of the main four. He has received a more prominent role from the fifth season onward (after "Kenny Dies") and has become somewhat of a sidekick of Cartman, due to his own well-mannered and gullible nature. | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Clyde Donovan | Trey Parker[15] | One of the boys' classmates and considered himself as the sexiest of the class. | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Craig Tucker | Matt Stone[23] | One of the boys' classmate who occasionally antagonizes them | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Jimmy Valmer | Trey Parker[9] | One of the boys' two handicapped classmates and an amateur standup comedian he is known to stutter a lot when he talks due to his disability | "Cripple Fight" |
| Timmy Burch | Trey Parker[9] | One of the boys' two handicapped classmates whose vocabulary is mostly limited to the enthusiastic shouting of his own name | "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000" |
| Token Black | Adrien Beard[15] | The boys' wealthiest classmate and apparently the only black child in the town | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Tweek Tweak | Matt Stone[24] | The boys' hyperactive and paranoid classmate due to an excessive intake of coffee, although his parents believe it to be because of ADD. | "Gnomes" |
| Wendy Testaburger | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Eliza Schneider,[10] Mona Marshall,[25] April Stewart[10] | One of the boys' classmates, Stan's girlfriend and Bebe's best friend | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Santa |
| Character | Voiced by | Role | First appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Marsh | Trey Parker[9] | Stan's father, who worked as a geologist. He gets involved in stupid things such as becoming a celebrity chef and getting into baseball fights. | "Volcano" |
| Sharon Marsh | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Eliza Schneider,[10] April Stewart[10] | Randy's wife and Stan's mother. | "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" |
| Shelley Marsh | Mary Kay Bergman,[26] Eliza Schneider,[27] April Stewart[23] | Stan's violent, snobbish, ill-tempered and mischievous older sister | "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" |
| Grandpa Marvin Marsh | Trey Parker[9] | Randy's father and Stan's grandfather, who attempts to kill himself or have others do so in several episodes | "Death" |
| Jimbo Kern | Matt Stone[9] | Randy Marsh's half brother[28] and Stan's uncle, who is portrayed as a hunter, TV show host, and gun store owner | "Volcano" |
| Gerald Broflovski | Matt Stone[9] | Kyle's father, who works as a lawyer. | "Starvin' Marvin" |
| Sheila Broflovski | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Mona Marshall[10] | Kyle's overly-protective mother. | "Death" |
| Ike Broflovski | various children of South Park employees[9] | Kyle's younger brother, the Canadian-born adopted son of Gerald and Sheila | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Liane Cartman | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Eliza Schneider,[10] April Stewart[10] | Mother of Cartman who spoils her son.[29] | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Stuart McCormick | Matt Stone[9] | Kenny's alcoholic and violent father | "Starvin' Marvin" |
| Carol McCormick | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Eliza Schneider,[10] April Stewart[23] | Kenny's alcoholic and violent mother | "Starvin' Marvin" |
| Stephen Stotch | Trey Parker[9] | Butters' strict father (possibly bisexual, as explored in "Butters' Very Own Episode") | "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" |
| Linda Stotch | Mary Kay BergmanMona Marshall[25] | Butters' mother | "The Wacky Molestation Adventure" |
| Character | Voiced by | Role | First appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Garrison | Trey Parker[9] | The boys' teacher who had a sex change operation during season nine, before changing it back during season twelve | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Mr. Mackey | Trey Parker[9] | The school's counselor, who says "M'Kay" randomly | "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" |
| Mr. Slave | John Hansen[14] | Mr. Garrison's lover and classroom assistant, who later married Big Gay Al | "The Death Camp of Tolerance" |
| Principal Victoria | Eliza Schneider,[27] April Stewart[10] | The principal of the school | "Pinkeye" |
| Officer Barbrady | Trey Parker[9] | The town's highly untrained and undereducated police officer | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" |
| Big Gay Al | Matt Stone[9] | Ex-scout leader who used to own a sanctuary for gay animals, portrayed as the show's stereotypical gay character | "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" |
| Ned Gerblansky | Trey Parker[9] | Jimbo Kern's best friend who speaks through a voicebox | "Volcano" |
| God | Trey Parker[30] | God, portrayed as a strange animal | "Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus" |
| Jesus | Matt Stone[9] | Jesus, who lives in an ordinary house and hosts a talk show on the local TV station | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty |
| Mr. Hankey | Trey Parker[31] | A talking feces | "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" |
| Tuong Lu Kim | Trey Parker[30] | City Wok owner, recently shown to be one of many personalities of a therapist with Multiple Personality Disorder. | "Jared Has Aides" |
| Father Maxi | Matt Stone[9] | Catholic priest | "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" |
| Mayor McDaniels | Mary Kay Bergman,[10] Eliza Schneider,[10] | Town's mayor | "Weight Gain 4000" |
| Dr. Alphonse Mephisto | Trey Parker[9] | Local mad scientist and Marlon Brando lookalike | "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" |
| Moses | Trey Parker | A character based on Moses, a gigantic dreidel who looks and talks like MCP from Tron[32] | "Jewbilee" |
| Santa | Trey Parker[9] | A character based on Santa Claus | The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Santa |
| Satan | Trey Parker[9] | A character based on the Christian concept of Satan | "Damien" |
| Starvin' Marvin | Trey Parker[9] | An Ethiopian boy | "Starvin' Marvin" |
| Terrance and Phillip | Matt Stone (Terrance)[9] and Trey Parker (Phillip)[9] | A Canadian television comedy duo later married to the Queef sisters | "Death" |
| Towelie | Vernon Chatman[9] | A talking stoner towel (currently sober), father of Washcloth | "Towelie" |
| Sergeant Harrison Yates | Trey Parker[23] | A police detective | "Christian Rock Hard" |
A few characters have had a major role in the past episodes in the show before their death.
| Character | Voiced by | Role | First appearance | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pip Pirrup | Matt Stone[9] | The boys' unpopular English classmate. Gets killed by Mecha-Streisand in "201". | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" | "201" |
| Chef | Isaac Hayes,[33] Peter Serafinowicz (Darth Chef)[34] | The school's chef and good friend of the boys, who was killed at the beginning of the tenth season | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" | "The Return of Chef" |
| Ms. Choksondik | Trey Parker[9] | The boys' former teacher who died during the sixth season | "4th Grade" | "The Simpsons Already Did It" |
| Ms. Crabtree | Mary Kay Bergman,[26][35] Eliza Schneider[27] | The former school bus driver before her death during the eighth season | "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" | "Cartman's Incredible Gift" |
| Saddam Hussein | Matt Stone[9] | A portrayal of Saddam Hussein, who in the show was involved in a homosexual relationship with Satan and built WMD's in heaven | "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus" | "It's Christmas in Canada" |
The characters of South Park have spawned several merchandise items, varying from toys to apparel items. In 2004, the first action figure collection was released by Mirage Toys containing five series each with four characters.[36] In 2006, Mezco toys released a second collection containing a total of six series, each containing six or four figures.[37] Comedy Central itself has made available a variety of products through its website, including t-shirts, figures, hats, pants, and even shot glasses.[38] A number of fan websites provides an even more extended amount of merchandise, ranging from posters, to magnets, ties and even skateboards,[39] South Park Studios offer through their website the possibility of creating personalized South Park avatars.[40] Similar possibilities have been available on multiple fansites.[41]
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