South Park has always been controversial, but whether you love or hate it, the show's been running for 27 years - so they must be doing something right.
The US sitcom first hit the small screen in 1997, and has given us iconic - and straight up bizarre - moments from the infamous Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan.
With any show that's been going on for as long as South Park, it's understandable for the minds behind it to reminisce on their favorite episodes, as well as those they wish they'd actually never written.
Advert
That is certainly the case for the shows' creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who weren't afraid to speak up about the seasons of the long-running show they wish would just disappear, forever.
Understandably, a considerable part of this regret stems from how they've matured since the early years of the show.
At the beginning of the show, Parker and Stone's priorities varied between 'trying to get laid' and 'f**king around', as they previously told The Hollywood Reporter.
Advert
But now they’re not twenty-somethings behaving like kids anymore, instead they’re actually parents to kids of their own.
And so, it’s no surprise then that their earliest seasons are the ones that have left the sourest taste in their mouth.
Notably, Parker said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “If I had to permanently erase anything from the library, it would basically be anything before season 4”.
And he was very clear in his reasoning why, citing pure embarrassment as the source of regret.
Advert
He added: “It’s just embarrassing to watch. OK, we were, like, 26, 27. But it’s like, ‘Really?’ We thought that was funny?
We thought that was well-written? Oh my God, this is terrible.”
It’s hard not to sympathise with Parker’s reasoning for such embarrassment, because nostalgia-induced cringe is a rite of passage for most of us. How often have we all found ourselves haunted by memories of our early years?
Advert
But now 27 years have passed, and creators Parker and Stone have evolved and refined their craft. They follow the same age-old formula with a dash less cringe.
Parker shed light on the script-writing process in an article for The Los Angeles Times’ on the show’s 25th anniversary, saying: "The writers' room always starts with us sitting around a table going, 'All right, what's going on?' Just like in any office. But even in the season we just did, some of my favorite things were Butters riding a horse and Cartman living in a hot dog. Just kid stuff."
Topics: South Park, Film and TV, US News, Entertainment