Smiling Friends Creators Shock Fans by Announcing the Series Has Come to an End

The extremity of an epoch that was, frankly, mode excessively short. Creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel person unexpectedly announced that their breakout deed Adult Swim bid Smiling Friends is ending with Season 3, which fans thought had concluded successful precocious November past year.

"This is not a bit, this is not a joke," Hadel explained successful a six-minute audio connection recorded alongside Cusack that was shared crossed Adult Swim's societal media accounts connected February 25. "Michael and I are present to denote Smiling Friends volition beryllium ending aft Season 3 is done."

The creators cited burnout arsenic a large origin successful their decision. "To beryllium honest, aft Season 3, Zach and I some had the aforesaid feeling wherever we felt beauteous burnt retired aft putting years and years into this, but besides beauteous accomplished,” Cusack explained. “We came to this feeling wherever we were like, 'This tin conscionable beryllium it.'"

The dynamic duo — who got their starts arsenic animators and dependable actors making archetypal contented connected YouTube — went connected to springiness fans a spot of anticipation by noting that if someday they consciousness revitalized connected the bid oregon consciousness they person much they want to do, they whitethorn travel back. It’s a bully possibly to person retired determination successful the universe, but successful the involvement of not starring the fans on, Cusack and Hadel doubled down connected the information that the bid is genuinely coming to an extremity astatine this point.

That said, they’re not finishing things disconnected without a parting gift, particularly considering the 3rd play came and went with fans not suspecting a happening owed to the information that the bid was already renewed for Seasons 4 and 5. The bid volition instrumentality to Adult Swim for conscionable 2 much episodes, 1 the creators claimed successful their connection were not finales but “stragglers” from the 3rd season, connected April 12.

Personally, I find this quality to beryllium devastating. Many fans person talked astir their fears of the amusement overstaying its invited and becoming a ammunition of the greatness that it erstwhile exuded, a improvement attributed mostly to Rick and Morty erstwhile citing this arsenic a crushed for wanting the amusement to spell retired connected top. But Smiling Friends has been consistently fantabulous since time one, each the mode done this 3rd season. That’s a fearfulness with immoderate show; you privation a bid you deliberation is large to enactment large until the end, but acold excessively galore radical (fans and creators alike) instrumentality that arsenic an existential threat, which makes them acrophobic for a amusement to walk immoderate magnitude of clip stretching its legs for fearfulness it’ll autumn into that terrifying subpar mentation of itself.

Ultimately, this is Smiling Friends going retired connected top, and if its creators don’t person that spark for it anymore, it’s noble of them to beryllium honorable with themselves and the audience. But that doesn’t mean we can’t beryllium bittersweet astir it (I am, if you couldn’t tell).

Despite the daze of the announcement, this isn’t the archetypal clip Hadel and Cusack person discussed wanting to debar a destiny wherever the bid loses its spark. "We don't privation it to beryllium a amusement that outstays its invited and goes connected forever," Cusack told Indiewire successful October 2025. “Zach and I person made a committedness to each different wherever we'll ever beryllium honorable and say, 'Look, bash we privation to support going with this, oregon bash we privation to wrapper it up connected a precocious note?'"

Smiling Friends premiered connected Adult Swim successful January 2022 aft the aviator occurrence was aired during Adult Swim’s April Fools Day programming successful 2020 and garnered a batch of attention. All 3 seasons are disposable to watercourse connected HBO Max.

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.