Claim: South Park episodes have had a writer and director.

South Park is an American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for the Comedy Central television network . The show revolves around four boys -- Stan Marsh , Kyle Broflovski , Eric Cartman , and Kenny McCormick -- and their bizarre adventures in and around the titular Colorado town . Much like The Simpsons , South Park uses a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters and became infamous for its profanity and dark , surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics towards a mature audience .   Parker and Stone developed the show from The Spirit of Christmas , two consecutive animated shorts created in 1992 and 1995 . The latter became one of the first Internet viral videos , ultimately leading to South Park 's production . It debuted in August 1997 with great success , consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program . Subsequent ratings have varied but it remains one of Comedy Central 's highest rated shows , and is slated to air in new episodes through 2019 .   The pilot episode was produced using cutout animation , leading to all subsequent episodes being produced with computer animation that emulated the cutout technique . Parker and Stone perform most of the voice acting for the show 's male characters . Since 2000 , each episode has typically been written and produced in the week preceding its broadcast , with Parker serving as the primary writer and director . There have been a total of episodes over the course of the show 's 20 seasons .   South Park has received numerous accolades , including five Primetime Emmy Awards , a Peabody Award , and numerous inclusions in various publications ' lists of greatest television shows . The show 's popularity resulted in a feature-length theatrical film , South Park : Bigger , Longer & Uncut which was released in June 1999 , less than two years after the show 's premiere , and became a commercial and critical success , even garnering a nomination for an Academy Award . In 2013 , TV Guide ranked South Park the tenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time .