10 Times You Can't Believe South Park Actually Went There
How do they get away with this stuff?
Upon its debut in 1997, South Park immediately stood out due to its crude humour. At a glance, one would naturally assume Trey Parker and Matt Stone's work has no real substance since it relies on obscene jokes and gross-out comedy. (Considering it has episode titles called "How to Eat with Your Butt", you can understand why.) But thanks to the creators' ability to devise hilarious storylines that analyse social issues in a creative way, South Park is still going strong after over two decades and plans to continue until at least 2027.
While some TV shows may be hesitant to poke fun at certain subjects, South Park never shies away from ridiculing topics that are considered touchy. Religion. Terrorist attacks. Caitlyn Jenner. There is literally no issue South Park will not deal with.
Because the series is renowned for shocking viewers, you'd assume fans would get desensitised to it. But after a quarter of a century, South Park still makes our collective jaws drop. When you look back on some of the most infamous moments, it's hard to believe these episodes aired.
10. Assisted Suicide
South Park has never avoided hot topics. The series has dedicated entire seasons to mocking pretty much any taboo you could imagine. But when the show started, it focused more on silly humour and outlandish storylines, rather than making social commentaries.
But South Park did deal with a hugely contentious topic in one of their earliest episodes. In the first season, Stan's Grampa tells his family how he hates being old and has decided to take his own life. When his attempts fail, he asks Stan to help put him out of his misery. Although Stan doesn't want Grampa to suffer, he doesn't know if assisted suicide is ethical. Every time Stan asks his friends (and Jesus) for clarification on the issue, they refuse to weigh in, believing it's way too polemical to discuss.
What makes this storyline more controversial was the fact it aired three months after Dr. Jack Kevorkian was tried for the fourth time in taking part in assisted suicide. South Park may have pushed social commentaries much harder in later years but this episode showed the creators have never been afraid to hit the hot button.