Posted in: Adult Swim, TV | Tagged: smiling friends
Smiling Friends creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel announced that the Adult Swim series has ended after three seasons.
Published Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:22:07 -0600 by Ray Flook
|
Last updated Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:25:00 -0600
|
▶” style=”border: 0px;” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; fullscreen;” loading=”lazy” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/nYG-BLlvTpI?feature=oembed” title=”Youtube Video”>
In what is still a shock to all of us here, Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel announced on Thursday that Smiling Friends has come to an end with the third season, meaning there will be no additional seasons. A silver lining is that there will be two new episodes available on Adult Swim on April 12th, though the two will be collaborating on projects in the future. As for why they’re ending the series, the duo admitted they’ve said all they wanted to say and that now was the time to wrap things up before the series became something less than what they envisioned. While they left the door slightly open to a special or something along those lines in the future, for now, the beloved animated series has wrapped.
Image: Adult Swim Screencap
Here’s a look at what Cusack and Hadel had to share about ending the animated series:
▶” style=”border: 0px;” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; fullscreen;” loading=”lazy” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwS2iF3VE3U?feature=oembed” title=”Youtube Video”>
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter shortly after the third season wrapped, Cusack and Handel were asked how long they could see the animated series running (Adult Swim picked up Smiling Friends for two additional seasons ahead of the Season 3 premiere). “We’ll see how we feel after four and five, and then Zach and I will get into the war room and decide what the next plan is. We pretty much can guarantee it’s not going to go on as much as these other shows,” Cusack shared, Hadel added, “Even if we had a thousand ideas at the end of season five, we’re not going to go on long. I will say that much. We’re not going to put a number up, but five is getting close to probably where we’ll want to wrap it up.” That doesn’t mean that Adult Swim and those close to them aren’t pushing for more seasons.
“Even our agents think we’re going to go to season 80 [laughs],” Cusack responded. “Our reps and Adult Swim are like, ‘Surely, we’ll go on forever.’ But Zach and I know what’s best for the show. The Beatles are so cool. They ended with ‘Abbey Road’ on a peak, and it’s like this nice little discography you can go back to watch. Leaving the audience wanting more is the best.” When the interview mentions that Paul McCartney’s follow-up band, Wings, “had some good songs,” Cusack added, “Yeah, but that was good because it was like a reset. If Zach and I made another show after ‘Smiling Friends,’ that would be an excuse to be refreshed again. That’s why Wings were good because Paul McCartney was like, ‘All right, now I can start again.'”
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!
