Entertainment
Adult Swim’s Stellar 93% RT Cult Classic Is a Perfect Weekend Binge Before It Ends
There aren’t too many adult-animated series that get off-the-wall crazy and as self-assured as Smiling Friends. Since its early, unsuspecting success on the Adult Swim programming block, Smiling Friends has created an enthusiastic audience thanks to its fast-paced comedic timing, unusual characters living in highly uncomfortable situations, and a distinct visual style that’s constantly in motion throughout its run. The type of show that you find accidentally one night, while you happen to be awake, and will rapidly begin sending the link to friends you want to show it to.
Now, the window to experience it fresh is starting to close. Creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel have confirmed the series will conclude after Season 3 (with two additional episodes still on the way), making this the ideal moment to catch up on one of Adult Swim’s most distinctive modern comedies.
What Is ‘Smiling Friends’ About?
On paper, the premise sounds almost wholesome. Pim (Cusack) and Charlie (Hadel) work at a small charity whose entire mission is to make people smile. In practice, their assignments spiral into chaotic, often deeply strange misadventures that push the pair into increasingly uncomfortable corners of their world.
The cast dynamic is an easy yet efficient one; Pim is excited to take on every job he’s given and approaches each one with wide-eyed sincerity. He believes it will go off without a hitch! Charlie is grounded, quietly exasperated, and appears to be the only realist on the team. The opposing dynamics of their personalities create the emotional center of the show, but as everything around them slips into the absurd.
Episodes are between 10 and 12 minutes long, and every moment counts. Humor is prompt, scenes escalate rapidly, and the series never allows a scene to go on too long for an audience to settle into. This show features a wide range of animation styles. During its run, Smiling Friends has used a combination of classic 2D animation, computer-generated imagery, rotoscoped animation, stop-motion, Flash-style segments, and live-action sequences. The overall effect is to be confusing yet have direction.
The animation styles’ flexibility can be compared to writing, as the humor shifts from dry, awkward exchanges to full-blown grotesqueries within the same scene. In particular, the second season really demonstrated the creative team trying to branch out by using retro video game styles, horror influences, and increasingly elaborate background gags.
How ‘Smiling Friends’ Built Its Cult Following
Part of the series’ rapid word-of-mouth success comes down to commitment. Rather than smoothing out its rough edges for broader appeal, Smiling Friends doubles down on its awkward rhythms, off-putting character designs, and hyper-specific joke construction.
That approach has paid off. The show quickly earned strong critical marks — including a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes — and became one of Adult Swim’s most buzzed-about originals in recent years. Fans gravitated toward its meme-ready moments, dense visual callbacks, and the strange sincerity hiding underneath the chaos.
Its short, largely self-contained episodes also make it incredibly easy to sample. You can watch one in under 15 minutes — but the show’s layered background jokes and blink-and-you-miss-it details make rewatches especially rewarding.
Why the ‘Smiling Friends’ Is Ending After Season 3
Despite its popularity, Cusack and Hadel made the call to step away from themselves. After years of nonstop production, both creators described feeling creatively satisfied but also deeply burnt out. Rather than risk the show losing its edge, they chose to end things while the energy was still there.
Importantly, the series isn’t disappearing overnight. Two additional Season 3 episodes are scheduled to arrive on April 12, described by the creators as standalone “stragglers” rather than a formal finale. That distinction leaves the door cracked open for a possible return someday, even if nothing is currently planned. Still, for all practical purposes, Smiling Friends is entering its closing chapter — and that makes the timing of a first watch (or a full rewatch) especially appealing.
Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Get Into ‘Smiling Friends’
There’s something refreshing about a show that knows when to stop. In an era where many animated hits stretch well past their creative peak, Smiling Friends appears poised to exit while still feeling sharp, strange, and fully itself.
For newcomers, the barrier to entry is low: short episodes, fast pacing, and a premise that reveals itself quickly. For longtime fans, the impending end gives the series a natural rewatch window, especially with those final episodes still on the horizon.
Either way, the math is simple. One of Adult Swim’s most distinctive comedies is wrapping up — and the weirder it gets, the more worth the ride becomes.