South Park, created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 1992, gained popularity for its satire and unique storytelling set in South Park, Colorado, with a shift away from serialized formats in later seasons, allowing the show to regain creative footing and relevance. The show's enduring success is attributed to its unbiased satire, tackling controversial topics without taking sides, and its structured storytelling following the "but therefore" rule to ensure causality and motivation in episodes.
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South Park's enduring success is rooted in its unique combination of satire and structured storytelling, allowing it to tackle controversial topics without bias while ensuring causality and motivation in its episodes through the "but therefore" rule.
Season 20 of South Park faced creative challenges due to a shift to a serialized format focusing on the 2016 presidential election, resulting in repetitive storylines and a lack of depth. The unexpected victory of Trump forced alterations to planned storylines, leading to a disjointed season, but subsequent seasons reverted to episodic storytelling, allowing the show to regain its creative footing and relevance.