- For other uses, see Smiling Friends (disambiguation).
Smiling Friends is an American-Australian animated television series, created by and starring internet personalities Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, airing on Adult Swim.
The pilot episode "Desmond's Big Day Out" aired on Adult Swim on April 1, 2020, and the rest of the first season premiered on January 10, 2022.
On February 9, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season[2] which premiered on May 12, 2024. Its first episode, "Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4K (Anniversary Director's Cut)," aired on April 1, 2024 after puppet-ified versions of Season One episodes.
A third season was announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2024.[3] A fourth and fifth season are in development.[4]
Premise
- Smiling Friends follows Smiling Friends Inc. employees Charlie, Pim, Allan, Glep, and zongo, as well as their boss, Mr. Boss, as they face misadventures while trying to make people smile, or otherwise bring happiness to their clients.
Production information
Little Helpers, the early concept for Smiling Friends. Top: Early prototype versions of Mr. Boss and Jason. Bottom: ??? (note that the character has a similar appearance to Zoey), Gremblo, Mike, ??? (Blue Janitor Dude?)
In Early 2017, YouTubers Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel conceived the idea of a show titled Little Helpers, inspired by South Park and Seinfeld, while dining in a Californian chicken restaurant, which featured "a group of loveable characters, with a simple kind of concept, which we could take anywhere we wanted to." The premise of these characters working at a hotline for unhappy people became the "connective tissue there that made it all click together."[5][6]
Images and Videos of this concept were posted in June 2017, and the first character shown in the concepts, Gremblo, became well known for a few months. Ultimately, all references to him and Little Helpers got wiped from Twitter sometime in 2018.
On April 1, 2020, a pilot named "Desmond's Big Day Out" premiered as a part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools Day event alongside another work of Cusack's, YOLO: Crystal Fantasy.
On May 19, 2021, Adult Swim and the show's creators announced that the series had been greenlit along with Royal Crackers and that it was set to premiere later in 2021.
On July 22, 2021, co-creator Zach Hadel announced that Season One would contain eight episodes, including the pilot, "Desmond's Big Day Out", which would end up being considered the first episode of the season.[6]
On November 12, 2021, during the Adult Swim Festival panel featuring Smiling Friends, co-creator Zach Hadel mentioned the series would premiere "within a few months", pushing the release schedule to 2022.
After overwhelmingly positive reception from viewers, on February 9, 2022, Adult Swim renewed the series for a second season along with Birdgirl. The first episode of the second season was previewed on April 1, 2024, with the rest of the season premiering on May 12, 2024.[2]
On June 13, 2024 at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced the series was renewed for a third season.[3]
Cast
Main
- Zach Hadel as Charlie, Glep, Jason, Desmond's Mom, Bliblies, Screaming Bird, Mr. Frog Fanboy, Salt, Century Egg, Mip, Gnarly, DJ Spit, Jason Peanutcritter, Ronald Reagan, Satan, Charlie's Grandma, Gleppie, Duncan, Gwimbly, Building Inspector, Willie #2, Bug of Knowledge, Halloween Witch, Squim, Sewer Maggot, Obsessed Cosplayer, Wizard
- Michael Cusack as Pim, Allan, Amy, Pim's Mom, Steven, Bliblies, Lucas the Magnificent, Mr. Frog, Rex, Jacob, Ketchup, Pepper, Witch Hand, Fairies, Grim, Warren Buffett, Plump Demon, Jeremy, MeepEats Deliveryman, James, Professor Psychotic, Willie #1, Spider Allan, Mother Nature, Sewer Rat, King Shmaloogle
- Marc M. as Mr. Boss, Guy At The Airport, Goblin, Bill Nye, Bar Patron, Mechanic Shmaloogle
Recurring
- Mike Stoklasa as Desmond, himself, Purple alien
- David Dore as Party Bro, Forest Demon, Alien, Armzo, Doctor
- David Firth as Shrimp, Fillmore, Mole Man
- Harry Partridge as Smormu Announcer, Grease, 3D Squelton, William Worm
- Chris O'Neill as Auditioning Father, Smormu[7], Yeti
- Erica Lindbeck as Assistant, Jennifer, Mustard, Princess, Brittney, Maurine, Marge Simpson
- Hans van Harken as Jimmy Fallon, Priest, Hell Faces, Frozen Head, Bill, Underpants guy
- Rodrigo Huerta as Meep Society Lady[8], Secret Service Agents [9], Jombo
Guests
- Finn Wolfhard as Wall Guy, Bliblies
- Nick Wolfhard as Graham Nelly, Bliblies
- Tom Fulp as Alpha
- Jane Badler as Celebrity series Host
- Mick Lauer as Bug, Guy in Gym, Crazy Cup, Elf
- Perry Caravello as Simon S. Salty
- Chills as Patron
- Clyde Boraine as Policeman
- Jim Knobeloch as Mystery series Host
- Monica Franco as Zoey, Waitress, Wendy Worm
- Joshua Tomar as Blue cop, Centaur, Elderly Glep,Count Groxia, Troglor, Bartender
- Lyle Rath as Mr. Man, IGBG CEO
- Gilbert Gottfried as God
- James Rolfe as himself
- Mike Bocchetti as Jimble
- Rich Evans as Brown alien
- Joel Haver as Doug
- Abed Gheith as Tyler
- Dana Snyder as Rotten the Snowman
- Marc Winslow as Pim (S02 E05)
- Edson Matus as Charlie (S02 E05)
- Connor O'Malley as Silly Samuel
- Jim Norton as Mothman
- Todor Manojlovic as Mushroom
- Bill Butts as Mr. Ice Cream
- Brian O'Halloran as himself
Crew
Producers
- Ollie Green - Executive producer
- Laura DiMaio - Executive producer
- Paul Moran - Executive producer
- Casey Rup - Executive producer
- Cody DeMatteis - Executive producer
Directors
- Zach Hadel - Series creator, executive producer, storyboard artist, writer
- Michael Cusack - Series creator, executive producer, storyboard artist, writer
- David Hootselle - Storyboard artist, animation director
Writers
- Hans van Harken
Animators
- Chris O'Neill - Composer, storyboard artist
- Jakub Zieba - Storyboard artist
- Jason Kruse - Storyboard artist
- Michael Dockery - Storyboard artist
- Mark Sheard - Storyboard artist
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | January 9, 2022 | |
| Brazil Special | August 6, 2022 | ||
| 2 | 8 | April 1, 2024 | June 23, 2024 |
| 3 | 10 | October 5, 2025 | November 30, 2025 |
United States Broadcast
Smiling Friends first aired on Adult Swim on January 9th 2022. The series was also released on HBO Max in 2022 (briefly Max between 2023-25).
International release
- Canada: The first season premiered weekly from January 9 to 30, 2022 on the 24-hour Canadian version of Adult Swim. It would continue to release new episodes on the channel around the exact same time and date as their United States premieres.
- Australia: The first two seasons were released on iTunes/Apple TV around the same time as their United States premiere dates.
- United Kingdom and Ireland: The series first premiered in the region on January 20, 2022 on Channel 4's sister channels E4 and E4 Extra. The first two seasons were also made available in the region to stream for free on All4. The third season, however, did not air or premiere in the channel or the streaming service due to the channel's rights to show Adult Swim programming expiring on October of 2025. The series is expected to arrive on HBO Max once the service launches in the region in 2026.
- France and Belgium: The series first premiered on Warner TV Next in the region on January 24, 2022. The second and third season are currently available to stream on HBO Max since June 11, 2024.
- Latin America, Brazil, Scandinavia and West Europe: The series would debut on HBO Max in those regions on February 9, 2022.
- Germany, Austria and Switzerland: The series premiered on Warner TV Comedy in many German-speaking countries on March 22, 2022.
- Central and Eastern Europe: The series first premiered on HBO Max in Poland and the rest of Central-Eastern European region on June 22, 2022. The first two seasons were released with subtitles during their premieres, although episodes from season three onward would recieve Czech, Hungarian and Polish dubbing during release (with Poland also recieving dubs for the first two seasons in October of 2025).
Videos
Trivia
- The Comic Sans font was intended to be used for the credits, but they were unable to acquire the rights to use it.[10]
- The show's logo is comprised of various colors, each color seemingly represents one of the Smiling Friends
- Zach Hadel, the series' co-creator, is better known online as psychicpebbles, and got his start in animation on Newgrounds.
- He and Chris O'Neill (OneyNG; series' composer for additional music and a minor voice actor) collaborate together frequently on YouTube channel OneyPlays.
- Likewise, many cast and crew members experienced in creating web content, predominantly videos or animations (on Newgrounds) have worked on the series; from cameos (Tom Fulp, creator of Newgrounds, as Alpha in "Desmond's Big Day Out," Doug Walker(TheNostagliaCritic) as Daniel the Demonslayer in "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?," etc.) to crew member roles (David Hootselle (shigloo) as directing (animation) and storyboarding, Chris O'Neill composing "Brown Smile," the outro theme song, etc.).
- Many aspects of the series - such as the design for Mr. Boss - were likely lifted from Zach and Michael's initial Adult Swim pitch, Little Helpers.
- With the upcoming release of Rick and Morty: The Anime, Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel have considered doing an anime-related episode of sorts, though not necessarily an anime adaptation.[11]
External links
- Smiling Friends on Wikipedia
- Smiling Friends on IMDB
- Smiling Friends on Adultswim.com
- Smiling Friends on HBO Max
References
- ↑ BROWN SMILE - SMILING FRIENDS CREDITS. Newgrounds. Oney (May 27, 2020).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Del Rosario, Alexandra (February 9, 2022). ‘Birdgirl’ & ‘Smiling Friends’ Renewed For Season 2 By Adult Swim. Deadline. Retrieved on June 15, 2024. “Animated comedies Birdgirl and Smiling Friends will get another go at Adult Swim, which has renewed both series for second seasons.”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lang, Jamie (June 13, 2024). Adult Swim Unveils Series Orders for ‘Oh My God, Yes!,’ ‘Ha Ha You Clowns’ and Season 3 of ‘Smiling Friends’ (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Retrieved on June 15, 2024. “During Thursday’s Annecy presentation, Adult Swim is also announcing that “Smiling Friends,” screening in competition at this year’s festival, has been renewed for a third season. The show’s co-creators, Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, as well as Adult Swim president Michael Ouewleen, will be on hand to share the good news.”
- ↑ Adult Swim (@adultswim) on X. Twitter (June 11, 2025). Retrieved on October 11, 2025.
- ↑ Zahed, Ramin (January 4, 2022). Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel Discuss Making ‘Smiling Friends,’ Their New Adult Swim Show. Animation Magazine. Retrieved on June 16, 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Create Unknown (July 22, 2021). PsychicPebbles on Making Smiling Friends. YouTube. Retrieved on June 26, 2022.
- ↑ Chris O'Neill (March 13, 2022). Chris (@OneyNG) on Twitter - March 13, 2022. Twitter. Retrieved on June 27, 2022.
- ↑ Smiling Friends | Audio Commentary | Mr. Frog (S1E2). Retrieved on Feburary 3rd, 2025.
- ↑ Rodrigo Huerta (May 14, 2024). Rodrigo (@ElCid_Tweets) on Twitter - May 14, 2024. Twitter. Retrieved on Feburary 3rd, 2025
- ↑ Smiling Friends (TV Series 2020— ) - Trivia - IMDb. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on November 27, 2024. “They originally intended to use the Comic Sans font for the credits but were unable to acquire the rights to use it.”
- ↑ Valentine, Evan (August 1, 2024). SDCC 2024: Smiling Friends Creators Have Talked Adding Anime to the Show. Comicbook.com. Retrieved on August 1, 2024.