Smiling Friends to End After Season 3 as Creators Cite Burnout, Promise Two Unaired Episodes

The animated comedy Smiling Friends will conclude after its third season, creators and stars Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel announced in a video posted to the show’s network social account. The decision caps a run the creators described as creatively fulfilling but exhausting, and comes with the promise of two additional Season 3 episodes airing April 12 at 11 p. m. ET.

Why Smiling Friends is ending

Cusack and Hadel said the choice to stop after Season 3 was driven by fatigue and a sense of accomplishment. After years of work, both creators felt burnt out and believed they had given the series everything they could. They emphasized a desire to preserve the show’s quality rather than continue while drained or half-hearted.

Creators’ intentions and creative standards

Hadel described the announcement as serious and not a joke, saying he and Cusack wanted to put “110%” into the project and exit while the show remained strong. They framed the ending as a deliberate, creative decision: better to leave audiences wanting more than to extend the series in a way that would compromise its standards. Cusack reiterated that ending the series was their decision, and both reflected on how difficult the announcement was to record emotionally.

Network response and the possibility of return

The creators said the network has been supportive of their choice, offering them a break and permission to return if and when they want. Cusack noted that the network made clear they could take time off and later come back, but that the decision to continue would rest with the creators. Both left the door open to future projects connected to the Smiling Friends universe—specials or other forms of return were mentioned as possible but not guaranteed.

Two unaired Season 3 episodes and rollout notes

Alongside the news of the series ending, the creators announced that two unreleased Season 3 episodes will be broadcast on April 12 at 11 p. m. ET. The pair clarified these installments are not intended as series finales but are described as small leftover entries that were not included in the initial season rollout.

Additional context from coverage and contributor note

• The public message included reflections on the show’s fans; the creators thanked viewers and described the experience as the ride of a lifetime.
• One item present in the coverage carried technical instructions: notifications can be managed in browser preferences, and readers were asked to refresh the page or the browser to be logged in.
• Contributor context: writer Vritti Johar is described as an Entertainment and Pop Culture writer who covers a wide range of content, with an interest in filmmaking and a habit of exploring art and photography when off duty.

Smiling Friends ends its run with creators who made an intentional, quality-driven choice to stop while they still felt creatively satisfied. The two scheduled April 12 episodes will give fans brief new material even as the series’ long-term future remains open but uncertain; the creators repeatedly stressed that any return would depend on their own appetite for making more. Recent updates indicate the situation is definitive for now but that details may evolve if the creators decide to revisit the project.