Adult Swim Smiling Friends Season 3 to end after creators announce departure

Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel announced in a posted video that adult swim smiling friends season 3 will be the final run for their animated comedy, a decision they say grew out of exhaustion after years of work and a desire to stop while the show felt strong. The pair also said two completed, unreleased Season 3 episodes will air on April 12.

Creators delivered the news in a short social clip

The news arrived in a video posted to Adult Swim’s X account and in a separate drop on Adult Swim’s social channels around 10 p. m. Wednesday night. The announcement came as a six-minute, audio-only clip in which Hadel opened plainly: “I’m gonna cut right to the chase, ” and: “This is not a bit, this is not a joke. Michael and I are here to announce that ‘Smiling Friends’ will be ending. ” The two are identified in the clip as the show’s co-creators and co-stars.

They say burnout and creative standards shaped the choice

Cusack said that after finishing Season 3 both creators felt “pretty burnt out” after putting years into the show but also “pretty accomplished, ” and that they reached a point where “I think that could just be it. ” Hadel said the pair had always aimed to put “110%” into Smiling Friends and wanted to “go out on top, ” preferring to leave viewers “wanting more” rather than continuing until the series felt tired. He added that they “wouldn’t want to be doing more seasons half‑hearted or burnt out or not feeling it, ” saying that would be unfair to themselves and to the audience.

Adult Swim’s response and the option to return

Cusack described the decision as “our decision” and said Adult Swim has been “very supportive. ” He quoted the network’s response as: “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 also relayed that the network said the creators could return in the future if they wanted and make more episodes, noting, “But maybe not. Who knows?”

Unreleased episodes, prior renewals and the creators’ next moves

The pair announced that two unreleased Season 3 episodes will air on April 12; Hadel clarified those installments are “not finales” but rather “little stragglers” that didn’t make the initial season rollout. Season 3 had just wrapped in November, and the show had been picked up for fourth and fifth seasons even before the third premiered. The creators had already begun developing new episodes, plans they said they are now scrapping.

Where the creators go from here and the show’s cultural footprint

Cusack and Hadel said they will continue to collaborate on other projects, likely under their newly launched indie-animation studio, Zam, and they indicated Adult Swim is leaving the door open for future work together. The creators acknowledged the show’s unexpected growth — Hadel noted the proliferation of fan art, costumes and memes and joked about “every drunk guy in a bar that gets up in my nose. ” The program’s popularity was visible in real-world events too: a Smiling Friends–themed pop-up in Brooklyn three months ago drew people who waited in line for hours. Cusack closed the announcement by acknowledging fan disappointment: “We know this is very disappointing, ” he said, calling the recording difficult to make and saying they hope fans understand and have enjoyed what they made, describing the experience as “the ride of a lifetime. ”