The first episode “Smiling Friends” hit Max in 2020, with its preliminary episode reaching 1.3 million views by early 2022 when the rest of the season was released. This made it the most watched episode on AdultSwim.com. When season two of the TV-MA cartoon came out back in April, there seemed to be significantly less buzz around it.
The show features five main characters: Charlie, Pim, Allan, Mr. Boss, and Glep. All five work at a company called Smiling Friends, where they are hired by people in the area to make them smile. For the most part, the show follows the loveable Pim and short-tempered Charlie. The pair go on missions in each episode and must find a way to help these people in need.
Each character has their own little backstory which can range from struggling with a divorce or seeking help in a presidential election. In addition to that, each character is a different species, all being animated differently. It’s always funny to see Claymation interact with a cartoon character in one scene and a real human in the next.
It truly feels like anything can happen in a given episode which is what makes it so great. Season two was even more out of pocket than season one. They introduced more characters and created even wackier situations than before.
This is one of my favorite adult animated shows and my favorite from Adult Swim. It is easily rewatchable, and the crude humor still hits on the second or third time around. Creators of the show Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel confirmed via Instagram that a third season of the show was confirmed and is on the way.
Until then you can stream the first two seasons of “Smiling Friends” on Max.
