South Park creator wishes he could delete three seasons of the show

Whether you love it or hate it, South Park has been gracing TV screens with witty, daft, and crass humor since 1997 and its creators can’t help but reflect on its humble origins.

Cringing at your past work seems to be a natural part of the creative process. The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are no strangers to this.

Specifically, Parker has said he wishes there are some parts of his work he could scrub from existence.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he said he wishes he could get rid of three seasons of South Park.

Despite what you may think of the show, Parker and Stone’s comedy chops have definitely grown over the years.

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Because of this, it seems the earliest seasons of the show are the ones that have resulted in the a sour taste for Parker, in particular.

He said: "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.

Parker 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?

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But now 26 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."

And it seems despite the early seasons they wish they could scrub from existence, the creators still have an unfailing love for the show.