Smiling Friends is one of Adult Swim’s most underrated offers, but it’s thankfully slowly gaining popularity.
The offbeat workplace comedy about best friends Pim and Charlie working for a company that specializes in making people happy was created by Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack in 2017, with Cartoon Network approving the production of a pilot that would be aired as part of the channel’s April Fool’s Day event in 2020. The creators are also responsible for voicing the majority of the show’s characters.
Season 1 only aired two years later, with season 2 following two years after that. Yet, despite extended hiatuses, Smiling Friends has developed a cult following of passionate viewers, drawn in by the eccentric mix of different animation styles, pop culture references, and dark comedy in service of sensitive topics.
Has Smiling Friends been renewed for a third season?
Yes! Adult Swim announced its upcoming programming at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and thankfully there was a little love left for Smiling Friends too. The network certainly made smiling friends out of every fan of the show by announcing its renewal.
Not much else was revealed about the future season, but seeing as season 2 has not even finished airing, it will be a while until we get a new batch of episodes. Nevertheless, there’s still plenty of the current season to enjoy, and a brand new episode titled “An Allan Adventure” has just been made available on Max and other Warner Bros. services after screening In Competition at the French film festival.
