Adult Swim Smiling Friends to End After Season 3
adult swim smiling friends will conclude after its third season, creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel announced in a message posted to the show's account on X. The creators said the decision was theirs and that two unreleased Season 3 episodes will air April 12 at 11 p. m.
Announcement on X account
In a video and audio message on X, Hadel opened by saying, 'I'm gonna cut right to the chase. This is not a bit, this is not a joke. Michael and I are here to announce that 'Smiling Friends' will be ending after Season 3 is done. ' The pair said the decision came after completing Season 3 and feeling both burnt out and accomplished.
Why the creators quit
Cusack said, 'To be perfectly honest, after we finished Season 3, Zach and I just both had the same feeling where we felt pretty burnt out after putting years and years into this, but also pretty accomplished. ' Hadel added that from the start they wanted to put '110%' into the show and 'then go out on top. ' He said they preferred to leave the audience 'wanting more' rather than have fans think, 'That show is still on the air? Oh god. '
Decision, network reaction, future
Cusack emphasized that 'this was our decision, ' and said the network had been 'very supportive. ' He quoted the network as telling them, 'If you're not feeling like making a cartoon, we're not going to stop you. Go have a break. Either come back or don't. ' Cusack noted the pair could return later to make more episodes if they chose, but said, 'Maybe not. Who knows?'
Two extra episodes, not finales
The creators announced that two unreleased Season 3 episodes will air April 12 at 11 p. m. Hadel clarified they are 'not finales' but 'little stragglers' that were left out of the initial rollout. In a fuller description those installments were called 'little stragglers, little rogue planets out there, not thematically related, ' and were not conceived as a series finale, leaving the door open to revisit the series in the future with new episodes.
Recent run and performance
Season 3 was an eight-episode run that ended on Nov. 30. The creators thanked fans, saying the show had grown far larger than they imagined: 'all the fan art, all the costumes, people sharing memes, all of it. ' The series has been described as one of the network's top-performing shows on HBO Max outside of Rick and Morty. Season 3 finds Pim, Charlie, Flint and the whole gang 'going absolutely bonkers once again, diving headfirst into their ultimate quest to spread joy upon the land. ' The series is produced by Williams Street.
Work to come and studio plans
Cusack and Hadel said they will continue to work together. In October they and producer Aron Fromm teamed to launch Zam Studios, a new Los Angeles-based independent animation studio. The creators also urged other shows to hire the Smiling Friends crew and left 'the door slightly open to a special or something along those lines' while stressing they did not want to continue with half-hearted, burnt-out seasons.
Hadel warned that after years of 'really, really grinding on this show, non-stop, without any breaks, 24/7, ' they reached a point where ending felt appropriate. 'We wouldn't want to be doing more seasons half-hearted or burnt out or not feeling it, ' he said. 'That's not fair to us, and it's not fair to the audience to give you guys fucking slop. ' Cusack closed by acknowledging disappointed fans: 'We know this is very disappointing... 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. It's been the ride of a lifetime. '
The creators made clear that while the series will end with Season 3, the extra April 12 episodes are part of the completed Season 3 order and are not intended as definitive series finales.
