Smiling Friends has been one of the most popular adult animated series for over 4 years. But the show was announced to be ending after the final two episodes of season three came out. This shocking announcement was made by the show’s creators, Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, back in February. They announced on YouTube that they made the difficult decision to end the show for two main reasons. The first being that both creators put a ton of effort into creating the third season, and after it was nearly finished, they both felt extreme burnout and exhaustion. The second reason was that they were really happy with where the show’s quality was in season three, and admired how many positive reviews the show was getting. They didn’t want to risk ruining the show by making another season that might not have as much creative energy as the first three. So they decided not to make another season to preserve the show’s reputation and high point in quality.
This was incredibly shocking for fans of the show, not only because of the show’s incredible success, but also because the show had been renewed for another two seasons by its producer, Adult Swim. But at the end of the day, it was Zach and Michael’s choice to end the show, and there isn’t much else that can be done. The final episodes of season three, episodes 9 and 10, came out on April 13th. Episode 9, titled “Friend-Bot (Version 12589218731809213528796879521)”, focuses on the Smiling Friends crew finding a robot that does anything, and they begin to use the robot to complete all their daily tasks. In Episode 10, titled “Charlie’s Uncle Dies and Doesn’t Come Back”, Pim and Charlie finally meet Charlie’s uncle, who has been mentioned multiple times throughout the show. Charlie’s uncle is dying and needs Pim and Charlie to go help him do things he wants to do. Also, Allan goes on a date.
With season three wrapped up, both the show’s creators can move on to other things they had in mind. And we can always remember Smiling Friends for the high note it ended on, and admire all of Zach and Michael’s hard work.
