PEOPLE MAGAZINE ARTICLE (kinda old)
KIDS BEHAVING BADLY
COMEDY CENTRAL President Doug Herzog fancies it his network's answer to Seinfeld. George Clooney can't wait for its premiere. And Trey Parker, 27, (who co-created it with fellow filmmaker Matt Stone) promises, "It's going to really piss people off." Welcome to South Park, an animated half-hour series (premiering Aug. 13 on Comedy Central at 10 p.m.) about four foul-mouthed third graders whose misadventures include thwarting the assassination of Kathie Lee Gifford. Think Beavis and Butt-head meet The Smurfs. "We take something wholesome and make it demented," says Stone, 26.
Way demented. South Park, in fact, is a spin-off of The Spirit of Christmas, an animated short the duo created in 1995 about some very profane kids who watch Santa Claus and Jesus Christ fight over who best represents Christmas. Spirit, originally commissioned by a Fox exec to send out as a video Christmas card, became a sensation among showbiz insiders. "These [guys] are like the Care Bears on acid," says George Clooney, who dubbed 100 copies of Spirit for friends.
A copy made it to Herzog and, delighted by the edgy humor, he asked the two former University of Colorado film students to develop a pilot, then a series. Next up: a movie deal. The pair are mulling offers from four major studios. As for South Park, "Every episode of the show will have a moral," says Stone. "But we'll try to screw that up too."
-- CRAIG TOMASHOFF