As with most situational comedies, South Park has a standard status quo it returns to for most episodes. While the times may change and the references may shift, it's rare that a genuine change to the world takes a permanent effect. While the show has introduced some elements in later seasons like Mr. Garrison becoming president or Randy's Tegridy Weed farm -- both subplots that have played out in multiple seasons -- the show's core dynamics largely remain unchanged from its earliest years.
That wasn't necessarily the case in 2011, however. During the summer break between production on the Season 15 two-parter "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers," South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone considered keeping the changes to South Park's main dynamics permanent. Here's how South Park almost radically reinvented itself into a far more character-drama-driven series -- and why it didn't.
What Happens In "You're Getting Old"
In Season 15's "You're Getting Old," Stan Marsh turns 10 and finds that most of the things in life just sound and look worse. This is illustrated by looking like human excrement. As a sense of cynicism sets into Stan's perspective and begins to have a negative effect on his interpersonal relationships, other people in his orbit are pushed together and pulled apart. Stan's friends (and perpetual enemies) Kyle and Cartman hang out more and seem to largely drop their antagonism. Meanwhile, his father Randy attempts to seem young and hip by embracing "tweenwave" music, pushing him away from his wife, Sharon.
Just the latest fad Randy had dived head-first into, this one ends up forcing Randy and Sharon to admit to the problems in their relationship. The episode ends on a surprisingly somber note as the pair agree to a separation by splitting apart and moving away from one another in a montage set to Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide." It was a far-cry from the standard South Park episode of the time, which typically reset the status quo of the era -- whether that be resurrecting Kenny or restoring the typical show dynamics. But this new set-up for the next episode might have become the new direction for the show.
How South Park Almost Changed Everything In Season 15
When the episode was originally released as a mid-season finale for Season 15, members of the media took "You're Getting Old" as a hint that Parker and Stone were growing tired of South Park. During the audio commentary for the episode included on South Park: The Complete 15th Season, the pair admitted that the attention paid to the episode initially surprised them. Many critics believed it was a precursor to the show ending, when the episode had really begun as a parody of modern music and evolved into a more existential story towards the end of production.
In reality, the impetus for leaving so much unresolved at the end of "You're Getting Old" was to riff on the sequential dramas of then-modern shows, with the duo revealing their appreciation for serialized storytelling -- an element that would become more common in future seasons of South Park. The pair was initially unsure between "You're Getting Old" and the subsequent "Ass Burgers" they would ever necessarily simply reset the status quo to what it had been before. During the audio commentary for the episodes, Parker admitted they considered keeping Randy and Sharon separated for the rest of Season 15, while showcasing different dynamics across South Park (something further explored in later episodes), potentially shifting the entire direction of the show.
As explained in the commentary for "Ass Burgers," Trey Parker and Matt Stone -- along with the rest of South Park's writing staff -- initially had no idea on how to advance that plot. The concept of keeping Stan and Sharon separated was bandied around, but the pair bristled at the idea of allowing Randy to fall out of focus. Taking a big dramatic swing with the show set up plenty of new ideas, but the creators steadily realized that shifting fully to focus on the character drama would take away from the irreverent humor at the core of the show's enduring appeal. Parker and Stone eventually decided it would have been too far off a shift, and they decided to use the ending of "Ass Burgers" to largely reset the status quo. Stone was against the idea of simply restoring the show's status quo and forgetting "You're Getting Old", but was convinced by Vernon Chatman (a producer on the show and the voice of recurring character Towlie) that the reset itself being played tragically could work both as a very effective dark joke about the structure of the series.
What Happens In "Ass Burgers"
"Ass Burgers" focuses on much of South Park shifting towards a new status quo, with Cartman and Kyle opening a hamburger stand and Sharon living away from Randy. Stan initially fights against all the new directions in his life, but the episode ends with him finally realizing that change and growth can be a good thing -- only for his entire life to be suddenly reset. Cartman and Kyle split up in a fight over the origins of Cartman's burgers, and Sharon sadly returns to her implicitly unhappy marriage with Randy. Once again set to "Landslide," the show more or less returns to the status quo -- albeit with a more despondent Stan, now aware and frustrated by the static nature of his life.
While South Park would become more serialized as time went on, the idea of the show embracing a genuine dramatic element would have radically altered the trajectory of the series. Parker is right in the commentary that much of South Park's perpetually topical satire might have been jeopardized if the show was fully focusing on the character drama set up by "You're Getting Old." But by making a comment on the quietly sad nature of simply continuing to push Stan back into his old life, Parker and Stone were able to give the two-part episode a barbed edge that stands out even from the show.