Kristen Schaal is probably best known for her numerous film and television roles, most notably as Louise Belcher on Fox’s Bob’s Burgers. But some may be unfamiliar with her work as a film and television writer, including a brief stint with the animated series South Park. The stint was brief and pretty easy to overlook among her credits because she didn’t last long on the cult classic. Schaal revealed why she was fired from the Comedy Central comedy after one month.
Before Kristen Schaal played the precocious Louise, she worked on some notable shows, including HBO's Flight of the Conchords and South Park. While her role as Mel brought her notoriety, it was being a South Park writer that gave her the most joy until her time ended prematurely. Schaal revealed to The Daily Beast how she earned a place in the Comedy Central hit’s writers’ room.
I was doing my one-woman show in Edinburgh, which is a month long. And while I was there, the South Park team had seen the Penelope Princess of Pets web videos that Kurt Braunholer and I had done. And I got asked to be a writer on the show. I was like, yeah! And then I got to the South Park offices and that was—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. And I didn’t last long. I was there for like a month and I was told—I got a warning that I was talking too much.
Getting a warning for talking too much early into her time on South Park wasn't a good sign, with Kristen Schaal making it clear that she was too green to be in a Hollywood writers’ room at the time. The Bob’s Burgers star elaborated on the reason behind her South Park exit:
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.
Kristen Schaal’s premature dismissal from South Park was a crash course in understanding the dynamics in Hollywood, at least when it comes to writers for a TV show. At least the Bob’s Burgers star was able to bounce back.
Kristen Schaal gave a little more insight into her time on the cult classic. She revealed her lack of movie knowledge contributed to her dismissal from South Park. As a fan of the show, Kristen Schaal admitted she was “too nervous and too excited” in trying to prove herself to the South Park writing staff and creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Schaal mentioned there were no bad feelings between her, Stone and Parker.
Thankfully, being let go from South Park didn’t affect her career in a negative way in the long run. Kristen Schaal has thrived in Hollywood with plenty of film and television credits, including the upcoming season of Bob’s Burgers and Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society. Maybe one day, South Park will welcome Schaal back.
