Smiling ends

For a show whose premise lies in making people smile, the latest news about the show “Smiling Friends” is making fans anything but cheerful.

The show premiered its first episode, “Desmond’s Big Day,” on April 1, 2020, as a part of Cartoon Network’s nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The complete first season aired on Jan. 10, 2022, despite plans having been made for a weekly release.

Almost immediately, it became clear that viewers loved it, gravitating towards its smart humor, witty jokes and lovable characters — characters who genuinely seemed to care for and play well off of each other. Unfortunately, this high did not last long.

Creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack announced the show’s conclusion through a YouTube video on Adult Swim’s channel February 26.

Prefacing by ensuring that it was not a joke, Cusack said both he and Hadel had been feeling burnt out after writing, directing and voicing three seasons in roughly three years.

“We wouldn't want to be doing more seasons with like, half-hearted,” Hadel said in agreement.

Another sentiment shared by the two was they wanted to end on a high note.

“This feels like a good spot to end it,” Hadel said. “If we really feel inspired and if we really feel we’ve got great ideas, and we’re hungry to do it again, you know, absolutely we’ll come back maybe for a special or some more episodes.”

Despite this, many fans are hesitant to believe the show is truly ending. Adult Swim is known for elaborate April Fool’s jokes, including when they aired three Smiling Friends episodes completely remade with puppets.

“They are going for a long con prank this year,” Reddit user Doomchan said, claiming that the creators plan to let the fandom “talk about it, cry, complain, etc. for all of March” before revealing the prank on April 1.

Other fans have criticized Hadel and Cusack’s decision, especially since this comes just months after the news that the show had been renewed for seasons four and five.

Another concern is that the staff members are suddenly out of a job. Smiling Friend’s composer, Brendan Caulfield, posted on the social media site X in search of employment.

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“I'm looking for more work! Keen to try composing music for a video game,” Caulfield wrote.

Several people expressed frustration on behalf of Caulfield and other Smiling Friends staff.

“Confirming 2 more seasons, to the point that the company you're working for advertises them, and then backing out is NOT okay when you're working under a major network,” Reddit user Buffwoman69 said in a thread discussing the show. “This isn't a project among friends, they had a ton of people working with them that assumed they had job security for several more years. It's like, comically unprofessional and tbh I wish [Adult Swim] would put their foot down regarding it. It's great they're creator friendly but this is somehow a little TOO creator friendly.”

Smiling Friends has become almost a poster child for Adult Swim. People from all over the world have created fan art, memes and even cosplays (shoutout to my Halloween costume this past year).

I’m rather sad to see it go, but I do believe Cusack and Hadel are telling the truth, and they are not pulling an elaborate prank about the show's ending. It had been a common topic of discussion, especially when the show was renewed, that they didn’t want to see the show go on past its prime.

I hope to see more “Smiling Friends”-related content in the future, such as the mentioned specials. I would much rather watch high-quality episodes that are few and far between than a constantly updating reel of low-grade content made purely to get a season count met.

There were also questions about whether or not Hadel and Cusack could pass the torch and allow other creators to take over the show, but they addressed that idea in their video.

“It wouldn’t be the same show,” Hadel said. “It’s just not that kind of show, it’s not built like that.”

While it’s certainly not easy to accept, I do see their intentions as pure and in the best interest of the show and its legacy.

“This was our decision,” Cusack said. “We hope you understand, [and] we hope you’ve enjoyed what we’ve done. It's been amazing, the fans have been so good. It's been the best, [and] it’s been the ride of a lifetime.”

Hannaer@miamioh.edu