What Is Trey Parker’s Favorite ‘South Park’ Episode of All Time?
Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been writing for South Park since 1997. Throughout the 24 years that the series has been on the air, there have been a couple of episodes that they would be glad to erase from the library for good. But there are also a handful of episodes that they are incredibly proud of.
And according Trey Parker, there’s one episode in particular that he loves the most. Can you guess which one it is?
The ‘South Park’ creator thinks every episode he makes will be ‘the worst one’
During a 2020 podcast interview, Parker was asked if he still experiences self-doubt when putting out new South Park episodes.
Parker says,
“Oh, every single week. Every single show. Every show. You can ask anybody. Every show, I’m always saying, ‘Oh God, can we call the studio? Can we call Comedy Central and tell them there’s no show this week?’ And I always have to get talked down by Matt, and he goes, ‘Oh, come on, it’s funny!’ and I’m like, ‘But there’s nothing!’ You know, it happens every week. Almost every week, too, even by the time we’re done with the show, I’m like, ‘Oh my god. I’m embarrassed this is going on television.’ It’s not even finished, it’s not going to make any sense, everyone is going to be like, ‘that is the worst show ever.'”
Yet, according to Parker, there was one episode where he knew for sure it was going to be a hit. Which episode is Parker referring to?
Trey Parker’s favorite ‘South Park’ episode is ‘Imaginationland’
According to the South Park creator, his favorite episode is the “Imaginationland” trilogy.
“If I had to narrow it down to one favorite thing we’ve done, for me, it was ‘Imaginationland,'” Parker said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “We started it as one episode, and it wasn’t until the Monday before it aired that we were like, ‘F— it, let’s not end this. We’ll do a two-parter.’ It aired, and I said, ‘What if we did a trilogy?'”
And according to the South Park creator, writing “Imaginationland” was the first time he felt truly confident about an episode they were creating.
“I remember that Thursday morning, writing every beat of the show on the board,” said Parker. “It was the first time on a Thursday I stepped back from the board, and the whole show was there. It felt so good.”
What is Trey Parker’s least favorite ‘South Park’ episode?
While Parker loves the “Imaginationland” trilogy, there are many other episodes that he wishes he could permanently erase. In fact, according to Parker, he would love to get rid of the first three seasons of the series altogether.
“If I had to permanently erase anything from the library, it would basically be anything before season 4,” Parker said (via Entertainment Weekly.) “It’s just embarrassing to watch. OK, we were, like, 26, 27. But it’s like, ‘Really? ‘We thought that was funny? We thought that was well-written? Oh my God, this is terrible.”
