Adult Swim Smiling Friends Season 3 Is the End: Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack Confirm Final Episodes Air April 12
Adult Swim's most acclaimed animated comedy is ending its run after Season 3, with creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack confirming the news in a direct video announcement posted to Adult Swim's official channels on February 26, 2026 ET — stunning a fanbase that had every reason to expect years more of the show.
Smiling Friends Season 3 Is the Last Season Despite Renewals for Seasons 4 and 5
Adult Swim's most beloved animated comedy in years will not be getting a Season 4 or Season 5 despite already being renewed for both. Creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack made the call themselves, on their own terms, and the internet has been inconsolable ever since.
Hadel opened the announcement bluntly, telling fans this was not a bit and not a joke, before confirming that Smiling Friends will be ending after Season 3 is done. The message hit fans like a gut punch, given that Smiling Friends Season 3 had only premiered on Adult Swim in October 2025.
Cusack explained that after finishing Smiling Friends Season 3, both creators shared the same feeling of burnout after putting years and years into the project, but also of real accomplishment — and that feeling led them to the mutual conclusion that Season 3 could just be it.
Two Final Smiling Friends Episodes Set for April 12 on Adult Swim
Two additional episodes from the Season 3 production batch — described as unrelated "little stragglers" or "rogue planets," not tied thematically or positioned as finales — premiere April 12, 2026, at 11 PM ET on Adult Swim. Fans hoping for a grand farewell should recalibrate expectations.
Hadel clarified that these final two Smiling Friends episodes are not thematically related to one another and are not finales. They are simply part of the ten episodes produced for the third season that did not make it into the original Season 3 rollout.
All completed episodes of Smiling Friends Season 3 are currently available to stream on Max the day after their Adult Swim premiere. The final two episodes will follow the same pattern after April 12.
Adult Swim Fully Backed the Creators' Decision to End Smiling Friends
Adult Swim said in a statement that everyone at the network is incredibly proud of what Michael and Zach built, calling Smiling Friends a bold, boundary-pushing animated series that simply would not exist without the singular creative vision of its co-creators. The network added that it fully respects and supports the decision to bring the show to a close.
Cusack confirmed that Adult Swim executives encouraged them to take a break rather than force continuation, with the network telling them directly that if they are not feeling like making a cartoon, they would not be stopped — and that they could come back or not, entirely on their own terms.
Creators Compare Smiling Friends' End to the Beatles' Abbey Road
Cusack compared the decision to end Smiling Friends on their own terms to the Beatles ending with Abbey Road at their peak, describing it as a nice little discography fans can return to and watch. He said leaving the audience wanting more is always the best creative choice.
Hadel and Cusack along with producer Aron Fromm have launched ZAM Studios, a new Los Angeles-based independent animation studio, signaling the next chapter of their creative careers beyond Smiling Friends.
Both creators expressed openness to future specials or one-off Smiling Friends episodes if strong ideas emerge, but confirmed there are no immediate plans for more regular seasons of the show. For now, Pim, Charlie, Glep, and the rest of the Smiling Friends gang spread their last smiles on April 12 — and Adult Swim will never quite be the same.
