Ex-Comedy Central Staffer: âFinal Two Seasons Of âSouth Parkâ To Be Live Action Sitcomâ
A former staff member of Comedy Central has reportedly leaked information that alleges that seasons 19 and 20 of the popular animated program âSouth Parkâ will shift to a live action format. The staffer declined to give their name but claimed to have âworked close to the South Park writing team for some timeâ. Comedy Central and series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone agreedÂ in late 2011 to keep the show running through 2016. Starting with the 2013 season, Parker and Stone shifted to a non-stop ten episode season in contrast with previous seasons where anywhere from fourteen to eighteen episodes were filmed. It was speculated that Parker and Stone were getting weary of the show and the shorter seasons were a way to reduce their work load while keeping things fresh. Parker and Stone continued to switch things up in the most recent season by referencing earlier episodes for the first time in the showâs history. Previously, each episode was a stand alone story â hence how âKennyâ was able to killed multiple times, leading to one of the long-standing gags on the show. The shift to live action was even teased during the recent season 18 episode âGrounded Vindaloopâ. In âGrounded Vindaloopâ, the plot circles around the main characters using a virtual reality device. Towards the end of the episode, the character Stan removes the virtual reality helmet and the viewers are treated to a live action shot of the characters standing around a computer. The final three episodes of the season revert back to the standard animated format. The ex-staffer claims that, âTheyâre always teasing things in the episodes to see what the reaction from the audience will be. A lot of times things fly over their (the audience) heads and there is no pay off. However, in this case, I heard through the grapevine that the response to the live action scene was positive enough to get execs to sign off on letting them do the next two seasons as a live action show.â It is unknown of the actors shown in the âGrounded Vindaloopâ scene will be cast as the characters for the upcoming seasons. The ex-staff member also allegedly claimed that the upcoming two seasons will be the final two. The former staffer concluded by saying, âThe talk around the office was they never wanted to become something terrible like âThe Simpsonsâ became. They (the writing team) even felt that stretching the show out to twenty seasons, even with reduced episode orders, was pushing it into âover staying our welcomeâ territory. I will be shocked, even if the new live-action format takes off, if we see any new South Park episodes after 2016.â