South Park season 20: How it lasted

South Park has been a television fixture dating back to when a Clinton was President, not running for it. The raunchy comedy, however, was far from a sure thing when it debuted back in August 1997.

Senior writer Clark Collis took to Entertainment Weekly: The Show to reflect on the series, currently in its 20th season. Early signs weren’t great, earning a C grade while Rugrats took home an A in the same issue.

“When South Park started, I think it’s fair to say it concentrated very much on crude humor,” Collis reflects, “but pretty soon, they got into some topical stuff as well. Somewhat ironically, there’s lots of stuff about Mel Gibson, who was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly when it started, and became a character on South Park.”

Watch this full episode of Entertainment Weekly: The Show, available now, on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on Apple TV, Roku Players, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, iOS and Android devices.

Hear Collis’s thoughts above. South Park airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.