Smiling Friends

Smiling Friends is an Australian-American adult animated television series created by Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack for Cartoon Network's night-time programming block Adult Swim, which revolves around a small charity dedicated to making people smile.

The pilot episode aired April 1, 2020 as a part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools Day event alongside another work of Cusack's, YOLO: Crystal Fantasy and promptly became a hit. On May 19, 2021, Adult Swim and the show's creators announced that the series had been greenlit along with Royal Crackers and that it was set to premiere later in 2021. The first season contains 8 episodes, including the pilot. A panel dedicated to the series was held during the Adult Swim Festival on November 12, 2021, where co-creator Zach Hadel mentioned the show will premiere "within a few months", pushing the release schedule to 2022. The first season premiered on January 10, 2022, with Adult Swim airing all episodes of the season in one night despite initial plans for a weekly release.

Smiling Friends has received acclaim from both audiences and critics for its characterization, humor, writing, and integration of mixed media including 3D animation, stop motion, and live action. The series was renewed for a second season on February 9, 2022.

International versions

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