South Park’s Foul Language Makes Trey Parker And Matt Stone More Creative – Looper

In a vintage interview from 1997 for Bikini Magazine (via PaulSemel.com), Matt Stone explained that the foul language the kids in “South Park” use forced he and fellow co-creator Trey Parker to be more creative and is rooted in authenticity. The interview was conducted before the influential and controversial series even debuted, so the concept of showing kids swearing so much on TV was still shocking for late-’90s audiences. Stone explained, “On Comedy Central, we can’t say ‘f***’ and we can’t say ‘s***’ … it’s actually made the show better.”

Later in the show’s run, during its golden age in Season 5, “South Park” actually followed in the footsteps of CBS with their milestone episode of “Chicago Hope” and made an episode where they could indeed say “s***” on Comedy Central. Being “South Park,” of course, they said it 162 times, but it broke down barriers, leading to today when characters on shows like “American Horror Story” and “The Walking Dead” can say swear words on television all the time.

Despite being purveyors of bad taste, Stone said that Parker and himself think relying on cursing is a bit of a crutch. He said, “It really works in five minutes, but if that’s [what] you do for 22 minutes for 13 episodes and all you have is a bunch of cussing, it just gets old. It hasn’t even been a challenge; it’s just made us more creative, because we actually have to think of real jokes.” Fans have noticed over the years that a well-placed censor sound effect can be way funnier than hearing the real swear word. Even with more leniency on language in 2023, “South Park” will still bleep a word they can technically say on TV for comedic effect.