The line comes from South Park, the animated series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone that first aired in 1997. In its early seasons Kenny McCormick was killed in almost every episode, and Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski would respond with the now-famous exchange. The gag became one of the show's defining running jokes, and clips of it spread through YouTube, TikTok and meme edits long after the deaths became less frequent. It endures because the phrase is instantly understood even by people who have never watched a full episode.