A theatrical film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, was released in June 1999 to commercial and critical success, garnering an Academy Award nomination.

[15] The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to overreaction.

[24][25] South Park commonly makes use of carnivalesque and absurdist techniques,[26] numerous running gags,[27][28] violence,[28][29] sexual content,[30][31] offhand pop-cultural references, and satirical portrayal of celebrities.

[42] Parker and Stone met in film class at the University of Colorado in 1992 and discovered a shared love of Monty Python, which they often cite as one of their primary inspirations.

Fox Broadcasting Company executive and mutual friend Brian Graden commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film as a video Christmas card.

[27][11] As Jesus vs. Santa became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series about four children residing in a fictional Colorado town in the real-life South Park basin.

However, during the meeting at the Fox office in Century City, disagreements between the two creators and the network began to arise, mainly over the latter's refusal to air a show that included a supporting talking stool character named Mr. Hankey.

Some executives at 20th Century Fox Television (which was to produce the series) agreed with its then-sister network's stance on Mr. Hankey and repeatedly requested Parker and Stone to remove the character in order for the show to proceed.

[64][65] Television producer and writer Norman Lear, an idol of both Parker and Stone, served as a guest writing consultant for the season seven (2003) episodes "Cancelled" and "I'm a Little Bit Country".

[68][69][70] After exchanging ideas, Parker will write a script, and from there the entire team of animators, editors, technicians, and sound engineers will each typically work 100–120 hours in the ensuing week.

[35][75] A scene in the season seven (2003) finale "It's Christmas in Canada" references the discovery of dictator Saddam Hussein in a "spider hole" and his subsequent capture, which happened a mere three days prior to the episode airing.

[78] The show's style of animation is inspired by the paper cut-out cartoons made by Terry Gilliam for Monty Python's Flying Circus, of which Parker and Stone have been lifelong fans.

Canadians on the show are often portrayed in an even more minimalist fashion; they have simple beady eyes, and the top halves of their heads simply flap up and down when the characters speak.

[102][103] Comedy team Cheech & Chong voiced characters representing their likenesses for the season four (2000) episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons", which was the duo's first collaborative effort in 20 years.

[113] Adam Berry, the show's original score composer, used sound synthesis to simulate a small orchestra, and frequently alluded to existing famous pieces of music.

[113][114] After Berry left in 2001, Jamie Dunlap and Scott Nickoley of the Los Angeles-based Mad City Production Studios provided the show's original music for the next seven seasons.

[53] Rick James, Elton John, Meat Loaf, Joe Strummer, Ozzy Osbourne, Primus, Rancid, and Ween all guest starred and briefly performed in the season two (1998) episode "Chef Aid".

[118] In 2006, the theme music was remixed with the song "Whamola" by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, from the album Purple Onion.

South Park also airs in Irish on TG4 in Ireland,[124] STV in Scotland,[125] Comedy Central and MTV in the UK (previously on Sky One, Channel 4, VIVA and 5Star), B92 in Serbia,[126] and on Game One and NRJ 12 in France.

By the time its run in syndication ended in 2015,[132] it aired in 90 percent of the television markets across the United States and Canada, where it generated an estimated US$25 million a year in advertising revenue.

Several other themed DVD compilations have been released by Rhino Entertainment and Comedy Central,[138] while the three-episode Imaginationland story arc was reissued straight-to-DVD as a full-length feature in 2008.

In July 2014, it was announced that Hulu had signed a three-year deal purchasing exclusive online streaming rights to the South Park for a reported $80 million.

[152] In early October 2019, industry rumors suggested that the streaming rights for South Park were being offered to various services, creating an intense bidding war that was estimated to be as high as US$500 million.

Discovery filed a lawsuit which claimed that Paramount breached its exclusivity contract with HBO Max by airing South Park on its own streaming platform.

[179] In 2006, Comedy Central received a Peabody Award for South Park's "stringent social commentary" and "undeniably fearless lampooning of all that is self-important and hypocritical in American life".

[196][197] Specific controversies regarding the show have included an April Fools' Day prank played on its viewers in 1998,[198] its depiction of the Virgin Mary in the season nine (2005) finale "Bloody Mary" that angered several Catholics,[35] its depiction of Steve Irwin with a stingray barb stuck in his chest in the episode "Hell on Earth 2006", which originally aired less than two months after Irwin was killed in the same fashion,[199][200] Comedy Central's censorship of the depiction of Muhammad in the season 10 episode "Cartoon Wars Part II" in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy[194] and consistent mockery of the concept of climate change by using climate change denialist talking points.

[220][221] Commentary made in episodes has been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public,[222] and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, social, and political concepts.

The term "Chewbacca defense" has been documented as being used by criminologists, forensic scientists, and political commentators in their various discussions of similar methods used in legal cases and public forums.

[40][241][242] Sullivan averred that members of the group are "extremely skeptical of political correctness but also are socially liberal on many issues", though he says the phrase applied to them is meant to be more of a casual indication of beliefs than a strong partisan label.

[195] The duo explain that they regard liberals as having both delusions of entitlement to remain free from satire, and a propensity to enforce political correctness while patronizing the citizens of Middle America.