Summary
- Kenny's recurring death and resurrection established the post-modern humor of South Park, challenging television conventions and the sanctity of its characters.
- Kenny has died onscreen more than 100 times throughout South Park's history, with his deaths becoming less frequent in later seasons.
- Killing off Kenny permanently was considered in season 5, but fans' attachment to the character led to his eventual return, showing the importance of Kenny's death tradition in keeping the show fresh.
One of South Park’s most enduring traditions is the killing of the orange parka-wearing Kenny McCormick, and over the franchise’s decades-long history, the character has died a number of times. South Park debuted in 1997 after an animated comedy short from series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone became widely circulated among television insiders. The short, commissioned for $2000 as an “animated Christmas card” by Fox executive Brian Graden, captured the attention of Comedy Central, who asked its creators to develop their cynical, irreverent animated film into a series. South Park was born.
Among the show's earliest running gags is the recurring death of Kenny McCormick. The constant death and unacknowledged resurrection of Kenny quickly established the flippant, post-modern humor of South Park. While shows like The Simpsons skewered the American sitcom family, South Park’s bold disregard for the sanctity of its characters was an even sharper rebuke of television convention. However, as time progresses, such an audacious running gag loses its edge. The show has been forced to reinvent itself many times in order to stay relevant, with the treatment of Kenny’s death being one of many ways South Park has changed since its first season.
Kenny Dies 126 Times During South Park
At the time of this writing, Kenny has died onscreen 126 times throughout South Park’s various permutations. Counting only the series and movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Kenny has died around 100 times. Kenny has met his end a further 14 times in the South Park video games and 12 times in the animated shorts. Kenny’s first death even predates the series itself, taking place in the first-ever short, Jesus Vs. Frosty, made by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone when they were students at the University of Colorado.
In the first few seasons of South Park, Kenny dies in almost every episode. Had this tradition been sustained for the entire 325-episode run of South Park, the final death count would be much higher. However, Kenny’s deaths have been less and less frequent since season 5. Indeed, season 5 even sees the episode “Kenny Dies," in which a terminal disease appears to kill Kenny off permanently — until his eventual return in the finale of season 6. Matt Stone explained that repeating the gag became more and more of a chore, telling Buzzle, “We got sick of figuring out ways to kill him.”
Why South Park Never Kills Kenny Permanently
The closest South Park ever came to permanently retiring the Kenny was his season 5 death. The creators hoped to explore other characters, such as Butters and Tweek, in the space freed up by Kenny’s absence. However, Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to underestimate how attached fans had grown to the muffle-voiced character. In the wake of the backlash, Stone told ESPN, “It's funny that people care so much for Kenny; he's not even a character; he's like this orange blob that just moves around. People projected a lot of love on him.”
More recently, it seemed that South Park had finally killed Kenny for good in the special South Park: Post Covid, where the character’s death is treated as the driving force that reunites the friend group in the future. Kenny’s subsequent resurrection in South Park: Return of Covid indicates the purpose the character’s death tradition can serve in modern South Park. Having a main character who can die at any time and still return for future episodes gives Parker and Stone room to play with a variety of inventive storylines and out-there concepts. Rather than going stale, the tradition of Kenny’s death allows the show to keep itself fresh.