Some changes are being made over at South Park.  Creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker recently revealed that, instead of splitting each season into two halves of 7 episodes that air in the spring and fall, the upcoming 17th season will air as one batch of 10 episodes.  Though the change reduces the episode number from 14 per season to 10, the creators said that this allows them more time to devote to other things rather than having to work on South Park for two grueling, separate batches of 7 weeks out of the year.  Hit the jump for more from Stone and Parker regarding the future of South Park and how it fits in with the current television landscape.

After 16 years of South Park and winning nine Tony Awards for The Book of Mormon, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are starting their own production company.  The New York Times reports that the $300 million company, Important Studios, “will have the power and money to approve television, movie and theater projects, including a big-screen version of The Book of Mormon.”  Stone says he hopes DreamWorks or Lucasfilm will serve as a model, but then explained, “In some ways it’s a stupid comparison because they are gargantuan.  We want to be a smaller, more humble version of that.”

Hit the jump for more.

In terms of video games, nothing in the Christmas season really caught my eye even though that’s when companies push out their biggest titles of the year.  Instead, I’m looking to Q1 and Q2 of 2013 for my video game fix.  In January, I’m getting Ni No Kuni (a game co-developed with Studio Ghibli), Bioshock Infinite in March, and in May it’s South Park: The Stick of Truth.  While most South Park games have been forgettable, this is the one to keep an eye on.  Developed by Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas) and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you can see from this new trailer that the game looks terrific.  Not only does it look hilarious, but it’s an RPG with what looks to be turn-based combat, so I’m pretty much sold.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  South Park: The Stick of Truth is due out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC on May 14, 2013.

The most surprising thing about The Book of Mormon is just how undeniably sweet it is. Sure, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Broadway, Tony Award-winning musical has more than its fair share of pointed jabs at Mormons and AIDS and Ugandan warlords – but underneath all the irreverence lays a really warm-hearted story about the importance of storytelling. Because ultimately that’s what religions are: stories. Stories about a guy on a cross or a guy who parts the sea or a guy who digs up a number of golden plates.  Stories – The Book of Mormon advocates – bring communities together and guide people to higher moral truths. Of course stories are fictional – but that’s almost a non-point in the show. Whether or not Joseph Smith spoke to God is irrelevant – it’s the people he brought together with his tales and the hope and inspiration they provide that give Mormonism (and all religions and all stories) their own worth.

After the show here in Los Anegles, Trey Parker and Matt Stone participated in a group Q&A with select press. For highlights from the conversation – which included thoughts on a potential movie adaptation, the likelihood of them doing another stage musical and the troubles of getting old – hit the jump.

For the fifteenth season of South Park, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were coming off of the opening of their Broadway show The Book of Mormon, which was a huge hit. And when they went into their summer hiatus of that season with a cliffhanger episode that showed a huge shift in the characters, there was a sense that they might be done with the show. After all, the two had been doing it for so long, and – as with almost every season – their hit to miss ratio has always been noticeable. They had no intention of quitting, however, and we’re going to keep getting South Park. Sometimes they’re great, sometimes they’re one-note, but most episodes offer a number of big laughs. Our review of the Fifteenth Season of South Park on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Cable’s longest running animated series will last even longer as Comedy Central just announced that South Park has been renewed for three more seasons, which will take the series into their milestone 20th season. And as if it needs to be pointed out, series creators, writers, directors and stars Trey Parker and Matt Stone will continue to be at the helm of every single episode. The duo contributed a quick quote of standard publicity fluff saying, “Comedy Central has been our home for 15 years and we love working there. South Park is a blast and we can’t wait to make more.” The show continues to be topical, irreverent and smart in its comedy, and it’s good to hear that we’ve secured another few years with Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny. Hit the jump to check out the press release.

It’s no secret that a lot of work goes into an episode of an animated series, but when it comes to Comedy Central’s long-running series South Park, you might be shocked to learn that each episodes is completed in just under one week. This explains how the series from longtime collaborator Trey Parker and Matt Stone remains so topical and relevant every single week, but it also means that when South Park is in production, the pressure is on to deliver, just like an episode of Saturday Night Live. Perhaps that explains why someone like SNL cast member Bill Hader is on the writing staff and makes several appearances in this promising new documentary 6 Days to Air which will premiere on Comedy Central on October 9th.

Despite the obvious stress of putting together a half-hour animated comedy in just a week, Parker and Stone seem to be enjoying themselves immensely and always make time to joke around. Other highlights include a professional sounding conversation about characters shitting into each other’s mouths and someone farting into the PA system at the South Park offices. The new season of South Park premieres October 5th at 10/9c, but see the trailer for what looks to be an eye-opening look behind-the-scenes of the series after the jump.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are two very talented individuals. Not only are they extremely funny, but they have the ability to churn out content that few others could think up or pull off as well as they do on a consistent basis. The South Park duo turned a few heads when they set their sights on Broadway for their next venture, but the joke was on the naysayers when they walked away with nine Tony Awards for The Book of Mormon including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. Given their filmography, the inevitable question arose as to whether Parker and Stone had plans to turn the successful musical into a movie.

While we reported in April that the issue had been discussed between Parker, Stone, and Book of Mormon producer Scott Rudin, we now have word straight from the horse’s mouth that a feature film version is definitely in the cards. Hit the jump to see what Parker and Stone had to say.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are riding pretty high these days with their insanely successful Broadway show The Book Of Mormon piling up profits and Tonys. As a result, Comedy Central is keen to remind everyone that the comedy geniuses still have an animated series on their network and are planning to air a big retrospective documentary about the making of South Park this fall. Given the fact that the guys run an entire studio dedicated to South Park on the opposite end of the country, it should be pretty interesting. Hit the jump for more details on the upcoming doc.

Lest you thought that the bleak finale of the first half of season 15 this past May meant the end of South Park, the show has been renewed for two more seasons keeping the series on Comedy Central through 2013. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone ended the first half of this season with a bit of a downer episode focusing on Stan’s cynicism ruining his friendships while his parents complained about the repetitiveness of their marriage in what some saw as a not-so-thinly-veiled metaphor for the Parker and Stone’s exhaustion with the series.

However, the two quickly put rumors of the show’s end to rest as they reassured audiences that they wanted to continue with the series while appearing on The Daily Show, and now EW confirms that the Parker and Stone are signed on through 2013. The new order will bring the total number of seasons up to 17, with the second half of season 15 kicking off on October 5th with seven new episodes.

We’re fifteen seasons in on South Park, and the show has fallen into a comfortable groove. Matt Stone and Trey Parker went through some rough periods, but they have a system now: Generally there’s going to be some (very) topical episodes, some character episodes with many of those paired to something going on in pop culture, and now a number of multi-episode arcs that tend to fall back on fantasy or science fiction. And – though they sometimes get into beating up on things that may not deserve it or go too hard on something self-evident – the show delivers the laughs. Our review of the Blu-ray of South Park: The Complete Fourteenth Season on Blu-ray is after the jump.

In one of the least surprising news bites to slip out of the internet in weeks, it appears that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s new Broadway musical The Book Of Mormon will likely be getting a big screen adaptation. The play opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre back on March 24 to rave reviews and perpetually sold out houses. The pair teamed up with Avenue Q creator Robert Lopez for the musical and as you’d predict it’s a filthy, irreverent, and hilarious look at the wild and wacky world of Mormonism.

No official deal is in place for the movie adaptation yet, but Deadline reports that Parker, Stone and producer Scott Rudin have discussed the possibility. With money coming in from the Broadway show in comically large burlap sacks delivered by the Monopoly Man, it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood lets Trey and Matt spend a bunch of money on another silly, smart, and offensive comedy for the masses. Hit the jump for more sweet, sweet details.

Anyone who has seen Bill Hader on Saturday Night Live or his supporting work in films like Superbad and Adventureland knows he’s hilarious.  But did you know that Hader also writes for South Park?  I did not and now I do and I think we’re all better for the experience.

Steve recently interviewed Hader (who’s doing press for Paul) and asked how he came to be credited as a creative consultant on season 12.  Hader explains how the writing behind the show works and that he’s still on board as a consulting writer and will be going on a three-week retreat in April where showrunners Trey Parker and Matt Stone hash out their ideas.  For those curious as to how the South Park machine works, hit the jump.  The 15th season of South Park premieres Wednesday, April 27th at 10pm on Comedy Central.  You can expect Steve’s full interview with Hader this week.

Comedic masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren’t strangers to the musical world – along with their debut film Cannibal: The Musical and the many catchy tunes of South Park, they also crafted one of the greatest movie musicals of all time: South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Few artisans posses the ability to blend showtunes and scatological humor with such ease.

Now, the duo is taking their passion for musical satire to the Great White Way, launching their first Broadway show with a subject matter of which they are quite familiar. The Book of Mormon, written by Parker, Stone and Avenue Q co-writer Robert Lopez, tells the tale of two Mormon missionaries who travel to Uganda to convert the locals. Of course, it’s dirty as all hell.

A full run-down of the first 25 minutes of the show and a few of Parker and Stone’s thoughts, after the jump.

Comedy Central aired the 201^st episode of Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s South Park last night. The episode was a continuation of the storyline from the 200^th episode which was about Muhammad and how people don’t make fun of him because of religious fanatics.

When I sat down to watch the episode, I was shocked at the level of censorship.  Unlike the 200^th episode, the 201^st featured tons of bleeps; especially whenever they said Muhammad.  I was left wondering whether the complete change in the censorship was a joke in itself.  Today Stone and Parker released a statement.  Hit the jump for more: