The acclaimed animated series ‘Smiling Friends’, created by Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, will conclude its run after the airing of two special episodes on April 12. Through a statement published on YouTube, the creators expressed that they have achieved their narrative goal and prefer not to extend the series beyond its initial essence, avoiding the stretching that has harmed other productions like ‘Rick and Morty’. We hadn’t seen anything like it in a long time ‘Smiling Friends’ has been recognized as one of the best animated series in recent years, thanks to […]
The acclaimed animated series ‘Smiling Friends’, created by Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, will conclude its run after the airing of two special episodes on April 12. In a statement published on YouTube, the creators expressed that they have achieved their narrative goal and prefer not to extend the series beyond its initial essence, avoiding the stretching that has harmed other productions like ‘Rick and Morty’.
We hadn’t seen anything like this in a long time
‘Smiling Friends’ has been recognized as one of the best animated series in recent years, thanks to its Internet-influenced humor and absurd style, which has allowed it to stand out among other presentations in the field of contemporary animation. The series has forged its own path in television storytelling.
Despite its remarkable success and having been renewed for two more seasons by Adult Swim, Cusack and Hadel maintained a clear vision for the future of the series. They have previously indicated that they do not intend to extend the series beyond five seasons, leaving the door open for the possibility of a special in the future, although they emphasize that the series, as we have known it, will come to an end definitively.
The creators have left fans waiting for an uncertain future, as, although they continue to plan new projects, they insist that it is time to close this chapter. Even if we have a thousand ideas by the end of season 5, we are not going to continue much longer. Five is very close to where we probably want to end, they stated in a recent interview. With its conclusion, ‘Smiling Friends’ leaves a legacy that will likely influence the narrative of animation and television in the years to come.
Feeling nostalgic, in the middle of 2025, for the cartoons of the 80s is like being fascinated by a little stone on the ground without looking at the meteorite. The only thing that the old series had over the current ones was through your child’s eyes, which obviously were fascinated by everything. However, nowadays the number of true audiovisual wonders that fill our screens is endless, with extraordinary animation and intelligent scripts full of running gags that go beyond the weekly adventure. Gumball, Adventure Time, Phineas and Ferb, […]
Feeling nostalgic, in the middle of 2025, for the cartoons of the 80s is like being fascinated by a little stone on the ground without looking at the meteorite. The only thing that the old series had over the current ones was in your child’s eyes, which obviously were fascinated by everything. However, nowadays the number of true audiovisual wonders that fill our screens is endless, with extraordinary animation and intelligent scripts full of running gags that go beyond the weekly adventure. Gumball, Adventure Time, Phineas and Ferb, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth… The list could go on for hours, but there is one series that better defines the crazy times we live in and that you would do well to watch: Smiling Friends.
Our job is to make you happy
Each episode of Smiling Friends lasts just ten minutes. Enough time to take you through a washer of madness, meme culture, shitposting, brainrot, and gags that are as sharp as they are completely insane. What other animated series could start with a boss playing the knife and hand game and end with a gigantic smiling face destroying a city? This is just the plot of the first episode of season 3 that just premiered on HBO Max, but if you’ve never seen it, you have 17 other episodes to catch up on. You can binge it in an afternoon, if you have the guts.
Its own concept is a rarity: Smiling Friends is about a company that sad people hire to make them smile again. But if you’re expecting a feel-good series with sentimental music and morals at the end of each episode, you’re in for a big surprise: with creativity overflowing at the edges, literally anything can happen. Unexpected deaths? Sure. Frog-men eating people? Yes. Glop? Count on it. For 3 seasons, the Adult Swim series has managed to challenge its audience’s expectations and give them exactly what they didn’t know they wanted to see. And it’s a delight.
Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, both in their 30s and from the Internet subculture, created Smiling Friends as a place to unleash all the silliness they had inside, after absorbing the wildest animation culture and memes. The result is like Gumball multiplied by five, or as if the world around you is running a thousand miles per hour while you are standing still. The series itself breaks its own rules whenever it wants, tricks the viewers, and doesn’t even care if its own characters have internal logic. Who needs it when you’re creating pure audiovisual anarchy?
It is true that it is not designed, at all, for a marathon: its humor is so self-aware, so meta, and so absurd that watching all the episodes in a row can cause headaches and may not even be funny at all. However, Smiling Friends trusts you more than you think, and wants you to enjoy its hallucinogenic mix of 21st-century storytelling, a blend of styles, animation pushed to the limit, and culture that once could only be found in some fanzines. If you don’t enjoy it – that’s possible, and perfectly valid – you can always choose to knock on their door. The Smiling Friends are always looking for new cases, after all, even if it’s just to perpetuate their madness and audiovisual barbarism.
Adult Swim has confirmed the premiere dates for two of its most anticipated animated series. The third season of ‘Smiling Friends’, a comedy that has gained popularity for its absurd humor and charismatic characters, will premiere on October 5. This season promises to continue the crazy adventures of the protagonists, who are dedicated to making others happy in surprising and often hilarious ways. The most broken friends inside in Smiling Friends. Additionally, on October 19, Adult Swim will launch ‘Haha You Clowns’, a new comedy that aims to attract fans of […]
Adult Swim has confirmed the premiere dates for two of its most anticipated animated series. The third season of ‘Smiling Friends’, a comedy that has gained popularity for its absurd humor and charismatic characters, will premiere on October 5th. This season promises to continue the crazy adventures of the protagonists, who are dedicated to making others happy in surprising and often hilarious ways.
The most broken friends inside in Smiling Friends
In addition, on October 19, Adult Swim will launch ‘Haha You Clowns’, a new comedy aimed at attracting fans of irreverent humor. Although details about the plot and characters are still limited, they hope this series will have a similar appeal to its predecessor, with 15-minute episodes that invite viewers to enjoy a fast-paced and entertaining format.
Both series are scheduled to have new weekly episodes, allowing viewers to closely follow the stories and developments of each character. The creators of ‘Smiling Friends’ have mentioned in previous interviews that the new season will address current issues with their characteristic Korean animation style and dark humor.
With the success of previous seasons, both ‘Smiling Friends’ and ‘Haha You Clowns’ present a solid proposal for those seeking quality entertainment and laughs in Adult Swim’s nighttime lineup. Fans are already marking their calendars, preparing their comedy nights for what promises to be a memorable return for the adult animation universe.
