Smiling Friends Season 3 first look unveiled, sets October premiere on Adult Swim

The cult animated sensation Smiling Friends has found its place and niche in adult animation. Bizarre and profound, the series has become essential viewing for a sect of fans who are drawn to its perverse humour, strange characters, and surreal yet surprisingly tender-hearted storytelling. With just 15 minutes of runtime per episode, the show successfully delivers an incredible number of visual gags, layered jokes, and unpredictable storytelling that have fans returning for more.

At its heart, this show is about making people happy, but what truly gives it its identity is how it pursues that mission within a framework of crazy, sometimes unsettling adventures. The cast successfully blends nihilism and optimism, and the comedy is as ridiculous as it is emotionally satisfying. It’s this mix of nonsense and seriousness that has transcended mere cult status and made the series one of Adult Swim’s greatest success stories of the modern era.

When will Smiling Friends premiere?

Adult Swim has announced that Smiling Friends Season 3 will premiere on October 5 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT, as well as the premiere of Haha You Clowns, which debuts on October 19 at 11:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Both shows will stream a day later on HBO Max, ensuring neither is strictly quarantined to the network broadcast. The third season will introduce wild new scenarios, such as the gang finally obtaining their spirit gems, Mr. Frog flying straight at the camera, and an epic showdown with an ancient witch.

What the creators of Smiling Friends said about Season 3

Fans are excited for Season 3 but are also curious to see how the show will continue to rebrand itself, all while embracing the eccentric vibe that turned it into a breakout hit. Co-creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel opened up about the opportunities that came with the show’s two-season pickup in interviews with The Hollywood Reporter. Cusack explained:

“It means you don’t have to make the same episode that the engine of the show relies on, which is the smiling friends go out and help a depressed character,” said Cusack of the pickup. “Just like the shows we love and grew up with, the best part is, now we can make a whole episode about a secondary character and zoom in on them more and explore the town.”

The duo discussed the creative process and the challenges of deadlines that often result in unexpected gems. Cusack added:

“Even some episodes that we were not happy with at the time, we’re happy with later. ‘Frowning Friends’ [from season one] was a good example of an episode that we just felt wasn’t right. We always say episodes that feel off, we call them stress episodes because usually we have a deadline, and it’s like, ‘We have to get this done.’ And we have to just write a whole script in a day that we feel like isn’t working. But something about the energy of having that deadline makes some weird stuff come out."

The series, after two seasons, has shown an eagerness to subvert form and tone, transitioning seamlessly between comedy, parody, and the sincerely serious.

What is Smiling Friends about?

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From the creative minds of Cusack and Hadel, Smiling Friends centres on Pim and Charlie, two friends who work at a company dedicated to making people smile. The series is a mixture of absurdist humour, one that frequently sends its characters spinning into surreal misadventures that extend well beyond the arguably unsustainable premise on which the show is based.

The third season, which debuts soon, does more of the same, with new experiments in animation, inventive structures for each episode, and unexpected story lines that should surprise the show’s fans. Already renewed through Season 5, the show has guaranteed its place in Adult Swim’s and HBO Max’s lineups, which means that Pim, Charlie, and friends are all set to spread laughter and weird vibes for the foreseeable future.

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