Adult Animation’s Smiley Friends

BY: JACKSON WELLS / STAFF WRITER

Michael Cusack, Marc M., and Zach Hadel in Smiling Friends (Photo Credit: IMDB)

Ever since the birth of The Simpsons, adult animation has taken networks by storm, with Adult Swim creating an entire nighttime programming channel dedicated to showcasing the inappropriate and the insane that cartoons have to offer.

Some in formulaic sitcom style, others in tighter story-based segments, with gems like Bojack Horseman and The Midnight Gospel exhibiting just how special this specific genre of TV can really blossom into. 

Fast forward to the modern 2020s era, Rick and Morty and Family Guy can’t seem to stop churning out new episodes to feed stoners and Short Scrollers. 

 Then there are shows like Futurama and King of the Hill, which have been rebooted to push out unwarranted continuations. It is almost as if the state of creativity in the industry ran dry.

But, as many chronically online people know, the internet has been the center hub for original content for decades. Whether it be genre-bending animators on YouTube, full-length films on Newgrounds, or even engaging short-form videos across social media platforms, the web has birthed thousands of independent cartoon creators. This is where Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack got their start.

Both legends in their own respective fields across the three mediums, they trickled their way through storyboarding and writing on other networks to finally pitch their own show in 2020 with a proof of concept that fans immediately fell in love with. It soon became the most viewed Adult Swim pilot of all time.

So, from 2022 to 2026, Smiling Friends had the world in its tight hold and brought that same chaotic cartoonish energy that viewers were comfortable with. What sets it apart from the masses is its unique angle to that familiarity: the awkwardness of reality.

Smiling Friends’ surrealistic comedy mixed with constant visual techniques of 2D, 3D, stop motion, live-action, flash, and rotoscoping enticed critics and casual watchers alike. Even the ones who started it all, The Simpsons, parodied the show, with Hadel and Cusack having a satirical jab right back in an episode.

Between hundreds of thousands of people tuning in weekly, bigger streaming services like Hulu and HBO Max picking them up, merchandise outlets like Hot Topic and YouTooz hosting their products, and each 11-minute runtime having multiple unintentionally viral moments across social media, the efforts Hadel and Cusack had put in their entire lives really paid off.

After four years of hard work and exponential success, major burnout hit the dynamic duo, and they realized that, in order to create the best version of the show, they would have to destroy it. Once news of an ending was announced, even after being renewed for two seasons by Adult Swim, fans everywhere felt the pain, but understandably so.

There were in-person funerals held, video essays explaining the legacy of the series, and massive creative projects in tribute to Smiling Friends uploaded.

 When the final two episodes aired on April 12, 2026, the comfort show we once knew was really over. No big goodbye, no forced reveals or plot twists, just natural farewells to a show more than deserving of one.

Between cameos from Finn Wolfhard, Gilbert Gottfried, and Creed Bratton, references to niche internet culture, and hilariously unforgettable quotes, this show will live on as one of the most inventive of its time.

As someone who personally attended the NYC pop-up, sat with friends at 11 p.m. every Sunday to catch the live airings, and witnessed friends flock to Comic Con specifically for this show, I know the importance and impact of something as individual as this has changed adult animation forever.

A piece of media like this doesn’t come around often, especially in this space, and we’re reminded not to take for granted the art we consume, as our appreciation and dedication to it can entertain us far longer than our incessant need to never be left without.