South Park is one of the funniest and most popular animated sitcoms ever made. However, that doesn't mean that all of its characters are popular. Main characters, such as Stan and Cartman, have always played important roles in the series that fans enjoy, but there are many characters audiences don't have nearly as much fondness towards.
South Park has a sprawling cast of characters and it's easy for certain figures to disappear for long stretches of time. Residents of South Park won't always be exiled, but some characters haven't been seen or heard from in years, and when they do show up in episodes, they're causes for concern.
Updated March 21, 2023 by Daniel Kurland: South Park has built an enviable legacy over 26 seasons and more than 300 episodes, a remarkable accomplishment that few animated series ever reach. A lot can change over the course of 26 seasons and in South Park’s case, some characters have outstayed their welcome, experiencing a significant decline in popularity.
12 Mr. Garrison
Mr. Garrison has experienced the most change out of any South Park character, all in earnest attempts to elevate the South Park Elementary educator into something more than a one-note joke. It’s genuinely endearing as Mr. Garrison becomes open to accepting and exploring his sexuality, as well as the unexpected places this takes him.
Unfortunately, Garrison’s growth is derailed by his ascension to President of the United States in season 20. Garrison gets turned into a flimsy analogue for former President Trump and this decision lasts all the way until season 24. It turns Garrison into one of the most unpopular South Park characters.
11 Towelie
Towelie is a South Park character who appears in his self-titled season five episode and he proves himself to be a very simplistic presence and a towel of few needs. Towelie is a perpetual slacker who has a penchant for recreational drug use and not much else.
Towelie is initially a parody of hackneyed mascots and shoehorned new characters, but Towelie ends up fulfilling this prophecy. Towelie-based episodes have become some of South Park's most polarizing entries and the character's cooperation with Randy on Tegridy Farms hasn't done him any favors either.
10 Ned & Jimbo
In South Park’s earliest seasons, Stan’s Uncle Jimbo, as well as his war veteran buddy, Ned, are prominent supporting players. Several episodes involve Jimbo and Ned’s misguided hunting exploits, but they’re still around for encouragement even when they’re not the episode’s focus.
South Park’s cast has gradually expanded and over time the series has run out of things to say for Ned and Jimbo. They’re technically still South Park residents, but they’re barely seen anymore, and the series has found many more entertaining individuals to fill their void. Ned and Jimbo are relics of a more simplistic South Park.
9 Officer Barbrady
South Park begins with Officer Barbrady as the community's inept police officer and the one voice of authority who's meant to handle all of its unusual chaos. Barbrady isn't the most intelligent cop, but he has good intentions. Nevertheless, his intense attitude results in him repeatedly losing his job and becoming more of a background presence in the community.
Barbrady has largely been replaced by Harrison Yates, a considerably more confident cop, albeit one who's subject to his own share of inadequacies. Audiences are now past the point of anything new going on with Officer Barbrady.
8 Randy Marsh
Randy Marsh is one of South Park’s most fascinating figures. Randy begins as Stan’s forgettable dad, but he slowly steals focus away from the core four kids and becomes a surrogate for the show’s creators, Trey and Matt. South Park reaches a point where Randy usually gets at least one episode devoted to him a season.
This strategy works in Randy’s favor, but it slowly becomes too much of a good thing. Randy’s Tegridy Farms venture has consumed the character since season 22 and it’s led to diminishing returns. Randy has less to do, and he’s segregated his family away from the rest of South Park.
7 Principal Victoria
Principal Victoria helps keep South Park Elementary under control for South Park's first 18 seasons, but she's a fairly benign presence in the series. Principal Victoria spends a lot of time with the rest of South Park Elementary's staff, such as Mr. Garrison, Mr. Mackey, and Chef. Hoping to make the school and community better for everyone, Principal Victoria has tried to come up with good ideas and stopped reckless citizens from doing wrong, but this sometimes backfires on her.
Principal Victoria eventually gets replaced by PC Principal and she hasn't held much significance since. This change could have prompted some interesting soul-searching on her part as Victoria learns who she is without her principal status, but South Park instead decides to just move on.
6 Dr. Alphonse Mephesto
Dr. Alphonse Mephesto is an unconventional scientist who's responsible for some of the supernatural events during the infancy of South Park. It's Mephesto's arrogance that results in a renegade Stan clone early on in South Park's first season or the freed "prehistoric" ice man from season three.
Mephesto and the many Marlon Brando-based parodies that accompany him wear out their welcome. South Park's push towards more "ripped from the headlines" stories gives less purpose for Dr. Mephesto and his surreal science.
5 Mr. Hankey
Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo, is one of Kyle's best friends at the beginning of the series. He does his best to help Kyle feel included during the Christmas season and the crude character becomes a recurring presence during the show's frequent Christmas-themed installments.
Mr. Hankey slowly overstays his welcome and feels more like a relic of the past than a character that represents South Park's current values. Not only does Mr. Hankey have a lengthy absence in South Park, but he officially gets kicked out of the community (and moves to Springfield, of all places) as the series comments upon its now-outdated characters.
4 Jesus Christ
South Park's origins are connected to Christmas and the holiday's complex balancing act of religion and commercialism. Both Santa Claus and Jesus are actual characters in the series, and South Park engages in some controversial ideas that deconstruct these archetypes and what they represent. Jesus is just a regular South Park citizen, complete with his own cable-access series where he offers advice to the lost.
South Park gradually expands to take on more religious deities and sacred figures. Jesus is turned into a Superman-esque crime fighter who leads the Super Best Friends, which could've become a fun new role for him to occupy periodically. In the end, South Park moves past these shocking paradigms and creates compelling and thought-provoking comedy that doesn't need to involve Jesus to make a point.
3 Satan
During the start of South Park, the animated comedy considered it edgy to have Satan in their supporting cast. South Park gets a lot of mileage out of Satan and how it's able to play this intimidating figure both against type, while leaning into certain demonic stereotypes. South Park treats Satan like its ultimate evil for years, and he plays a major role in the series' apocalyptic feature film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
Satan meets a surprising end courtesy of ManBearPig in the episode, "Nobody Got Cereal?" Satan's death is followed by his transformation into an angel and he actually receives passage into heaven. It's a cathartic conclusion to his character arc. Satan has stayed out of the picture since his season 22 exit. That being said, South Park regularly tells stories that are set in both heaven and hell and so it wouldn't be impossible for Satan to return with a new modern context.
2 Saddam Hussein
While many remember Saddam Hussein as Iraq's fifth President, South Park fans know him as one of Satan's closest confidantes. Saddam Hussein is South Park's go-to tyrannical ruler during the show's early years, which reaches its apex when he releases hell on Earth in South Park's feature film. Even after the figure's death, Saddam continues to cause conflicts that rope Canadians into the mess.
Many of the jokes that surround Saddam Hussein reflect his emotionally manipulative and abusive behavior towards Satan, which quickly loses substance. Saddam loses a purpose following his break-up with Satan, and he's been absent for more than 15 seasons. Saddam was never South Park's greatest joke, and he feels tied to their anarchic punk rock roots.
1 Pip Pirrip
Pip comes from England and was a harmless enough student at South Park Elementary. He's often bullied by his peers and gets treated worse than everyone around him. However, Pip always tries to fit in by playing sports with his classmates, even if it means putting himself in danger. This exact fear comes to pass when Chef doesn't let him wear a helmet, unlike the rest of the class.
Pip never gets a break, even after he helps Stan, Kyle, and friends secure a victory in their dodgeball championship. South Park ultimately decides that Pip is worth more dead than alive and he becomes one of several casualties during Mecha-Streisand's revenge strike.