‘South Park’ Creators Talk Renewal Beyond 2016

However infrequently South Park arrives each year, many begin to wonder how much longer the talents of Trey Parker and Matt Stone will keep the series in play at Comedy Central. We’ve certainly been through some reassurance before, but will the 20th season in 2016 mark the official end? Says Parker, “They have to f—ing cancel us, goddammit!”

Despite a reduction of episodes from seven and seven chunks to ten straight per season, as well the creation of Parker and Stone’s Important Studios, neither seems particularly apt to bring South Park to a close after its last-contracted run in 2016. Speaking with IGN at E3 over the next installment of South Park video games, both Parker and Stone joked that while the inevitable series finale might lack steam, they wouldn’t walk away from the series until Comedy Central forced them to:

Parker: I think it’s going to end with a fizzle, for sure. I think it’s just going to end with some dud, and we’re gonna go, ‘F*** this, man,’ and walk away.

Stone: Some sort of whimper. Either drop the mic, get sued, get thrown off television – something like that.

Parker: Yeah, we’ve thought that for 18 years. We’re like, ‘Okay, well, they’re going to cancel us, for sure!’ We’ve been waiting to get canceled for 18 f***ing years.

Stone: We won’t stop until we get canceled. We’re renewing. They have to f***ing cancel us, goddammit!

Granted, the joking banter might not represent their exact future intentions, South Park seems safely cleared for the immediate future. Will the landmark series always have something to say, or end with a whimper in some far-flung future, as Parker and Stone say?