Summary
WhileSouth Parkhas killed off countless characters throughout the show’s 26 chaotic seasons, the long-running satirical comedy has only kept a handful of recurring characters dead for good.South Parkhas never been shy about killing off characters. Since the show’s inception, one of its most infamous running gags is the many gruesome deaths suffered by Kenny, one of its ten-year-old heroes. 2024’s feature-length specialSouth Park: The End of Obesitybrought back this gag in its ending, proving that the series is still committed to shocking viewers with gory comedy after all these years.
However, althoughSouth Parkseason 27may change this, the show hasn’t killed off many recurring characters for good.South Parkhas undeniably killed off a lot of characters, but almost all of them are one-off characters who died in the same episode where they were introduced. These don’t count as recurring characters and, conversely, a lot ofSouth Park’s supporting characters who died only did so temporarily.South Parkgave recurring characters like Jason White, Betsy Donovan, and Gordon Stoltski memorable deaths, but this didn’t stop them from appearing in the background of later episodes looking none the worse for wear.
South Park’s Latest Special Revived The Show’s Oldest Joke After A 4-Year Break
South Park: The End of Obesity revived one of the show’s oldest jokes for the first time in four years, bringing back a classic fan-favorite gag.
8Jack Tenorman
Cartman’s Real Father Was Indirectly Killed by His Son
One of the fewSouth Parkrecurring characters who was killed off permanently is Jack Tenorman,Scott Tenorman’s father. Unlike most of the characters mentioned here, Jack was killed off in his first appearance on the series when Cartman arranged his shooting in season 5, episode 4, “Scott Tenorman Must Die.” After his son Scott tricked Cartman into paying for his pubic hair, Cartman launched an elaborate revenge scheme that culminated in him getting both of Scott’s parents killed, grinding their bodies into chili, and feeding it to Scott.
Jack returned to the series in season 14, episodes 5 and 5, “200" and “201.” There, it was revealed that he had sex with Cartman’s mother Liane years earlier, meaningCartman accidentally had his own father killed. Inone ofSouth Park’s most hated episodes, the show kept the identity of Cartman’s father a secret. This outing’s follow-up revealed Liane was both Cartman’s mother and his father. However, this turned out to be a ruse designed to keep Cartman from discovering the truth.
7Diane Choksondik
The Gang’s Teacher Died In Season 6
Ms. Choksondik became theSouth Parkgang’s new teacher in season 4, episode 11, “Fourth Grade.” She was a recurring character throughout seasons 4 and 5 until season 6, episode 6,“Professor Chaos,” revealed that an unnamedSouth Parkcharacter would soon die in its cliffhanger ending. The next episode, “The Simpsons Did It,” revealed that Ms. Choksondik died off-screen after the boys put sea monkeys in her coffee as a practical joke.
The exact cause of Ms. Choksondik’s death was never revealed, but her tasteless pun name gives viewers a pretty obvious clue. The supporting star never returned to the show’s later seasons orSouth Park’s feature-length movie specials, meaning viewers can be fairly certain that she is gone for good. Mr. Garrison would later teach the gang after Ms. Choksondik’s death and went on to play a progressively bigger role in subsequent seasons. BySouth Parkseason 20, he had become the show’s stand-in for divisive presidential candidate Donald Trump.
6Veronica Crabtree
South Park’s Unhinged School Bus Driver Died In Season 8
Ms. Crabtree was the school bus driver for the show’s first few seasons, and she was usually a tense, angry presence in the series. She spent most of her on-screen appearances yelling at the kids and berating them, meaning the gang was terrified of her. However, season 2, episode 7, “City On The Edge of Forever (Flashbacks)” was a bizarrely poignant moment in the spotlight for her. When the school bus became trapped on a perilous mountain pass, Ms. Crabtree left to get help but instead forgot the children, relaxed her demeanor, and began a romantic relationship and successful standup career.
This was revealed to be a child’s dream in the episode’s tragic ending. In season 8, episode 13, “Cartman’s Incredible Gift,” Ms. Crabtree was brutally murdered by a serial killer.Ms Crabtree’s death was a rare case ofSouth Parkbreaking the fourth wall, as the police commented on the superfluous status of her character and her lack of screen time in recent outings.The End of Obesity’s Cartman character changewas similarly playful, with the characters acknowledging the show’s usual adherence to a reliable plot formula. More broadly,South Parkrarely addresses its status as a TV show.
5Margaret Nelson
Another Teacher Fell Victim To COVID-19
In season 19, episode 3, “The City Part of Town,”South Parktook on the topic of gentrification while introducing the gang’s new teacher, Ms. Nelson. Ms. Nelson ended up becoming a regular fixture on the series, replacing Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik from season 19 until season 23. She racked up fifteen appearances during her tenure on the series, but the character couldn’t avoid a surprisingly tragic fate in her second feature-length special. In “The Pandemic Special,” Ms. Nelson taught the boys online via Zoom.
In “South ParQ Vaccination Special,”Ms. Nelson died of COVID-19 before a vaccine became available, in a rare death that the series didn’t play for comedy. WhileKenny’s manySouth Parkdeathshave always been treated as a joke by the series, this fate was handled with more tact due to the ongoing pandemic. Ms. Nelson’s first name was revealed to be “Margaret” in the special, and she has not appeared in the series since that 2021 outing.
4Leslie Meyers
By all metrics, Leslie Meyers seemed to be a normal fourth grader when she was first introduced in season 9, episode 11, “Ginger Kids.” The unassuming little girl appeared in the background of many episodes before she played a major role in season 19, the firstSouth Parkseason that committed to an entirely serialized storyline. Season 19 mostly focused on PC Principal, but the pushy educator had a particular gripe with Leslie. PC Principal repeatedly told her to stop chatting before assemblies, a throwaway running gag that later proved to be prescient foreshadowing for the twist ending of season 19.
3Satan
ManBearPig Finally Killed Off Satan In Season 22
Satan was a recurring character throughoutSouth Park’s long history, as befits a show that constantly found itself in trouble for sacrilegious and profane jokes. Despite his status as the lord of hell, Satan could be surprisingly sweet at times and even had a heroic role at the end of the show’s theatrical movie debut,South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Outside that major supporting role, Satan appeared in tenSouth Parkepisodes, including the controversial season 10, episode 11, “Hell On Earth 2006.”
His final appearance came in season 22, episode 7, “Nobody Got Cereal?” In this belated follow-up to ManBearPig’s first appearance,South Parkeffectively apologized to Al Gore for mocking the politician’s warnings about climate change.ManBearPig killed Satan when the pair fought, proving that the monster was a bigger threat than the series made him out to be in earlier episodes.
2Pip
South Park’s Recurring Character Was Killed Off For Good
One ofSouth Park’s most unfairly hated episodescentered on Pip the English kid’s backstory. Pip Pirrip was a fastidiously polite English child who served as the show’s punching bag for its first few seasons. Pip played a surprisingly major role in this era, appearing as early as the show’s pilot “Cartman Gets An Anal Probe.” Outdoing most of the recurring charters listed here,Pip appeared in over 70 episodes ofSouth Parkbefore he was killed off permanently.
Gradually, Pip fell out of favor with the show’s creators, and his role was taken over by Butters.Pip died in “201” when he was crushed by Mecha-Streisand, which was arguably a fitting end for the character. Like Mecha-Steisand, Pip was an artifact from the show’s first three seasons, when its writing was less interested in topical satire and more focused on random humor. Thus, his death underlined the show’s changing tone.
1Chef
Isaac Hayes’s Supporting Star Got A Bitter South Park End
Of all the charactersSouth Parkhas killed off throughout its 27 years on the air, Chef is undoubtedly the most controversial. Played by the late screen legend Isaac Hayes, Chef was a reliable source of well-meaning but utterly inappropriate advice for the boys. A soul singer and veritable lothario, Chef was both an absurd figure and a beloved supporting star throughout the show’s early years.
However, Hayes left the show in a haze of confusion and controversy after an episode mocked Scientology. Hayes was a Scientologist, but his ill health led some commentators to speculate that the decision to leave the series wasn’t his own. His son confirmed this toThe Hollywood Reporterin 2016. Season 10, episode 1, “The Return of Chef,” portrayed Chef being brainwashed by child molesters before being stuck by lightning and falling into a ravine where he was attacked by a mountain lion and a bear.South Park’s Chef death was permanent, with Hayes himself dying in 2008 at the age of 65.
