Kristen Schaal has recalled her brief experience as a writer on South Park, where she was fired after just one month.
The actress, comedian and writer, known for playing Mel in Flight of the Conchords, was contacted by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to write for season 11 after they watched her Penelope Princess of Pets internet series with Kurt Braunohler.
As a huge fan of the show however, Schaal’s eagerness became a problem in the writer’s room.
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Schaal said: “I didn’t last long. I was there for like a month… and I got a warning that I was talking too much.
“I was pitching too much. I’d never been in a writers’ room before. So I was just like, let me earn my keep. I was like, ‘How about this? How about this? How about this?’ And that’s not how it works.”
In 2007, South Park was also often leaning into film parodies – something Schaal doesn’t have much experience with. “I couldn’t go there, so I just kept pitching another thing. So looking back, yeah, they let me go. I could do a writers’ room now, just for everybody listening, but I was too nervous and too excited to be in there.”
The experience hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm for the show though, despite the firing being “devastating” at the time, adding: “I mean, I am such a South Park fan. I think South Park is honestly one of the most underrated cultural shows. I think people have taken it for granted at this point. But it is such a force.
“And I grew up in Colorado, I went to school at the University of Colorado for a year. So I was in awe.”
Along with roles in Flight of the Conchords, Schaal has provided voices for Bob’s Burgers and Gravity Falls, and played Carol Pilbasian in The Last Man On Earth.
South Park will be on screens for a while yet too. The show was renewed through to season 30 on Comedy Central, while 14 original films based on the series are also on the way for Paramount+ before 2027.
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