Adult Swim, a television channel established in 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia, has served as a platform that allows people with unique ideas to put their creations that don’t fit the mainstream media on display. One example of this platform’s use is Tyler the Creator’s show “Loiter Squad” which helped put his name out into the world, ultimately boosting his career.
Tyler the Creator is far from the only example of talented individuals getting their foot in the door with the help of Adult Swim. The show “Smiling Friends” created by Zach Hadel and Micheal Cusack, displays advanced humor catered to mature audiences and first aired on Jan. 10, 2022.
“Smiling Friends” follows the employees of a charity known as Smiling Friends Inc., who are dedicated to putting a smile on their customers’ faces. In the process, they meet various quirky individuals and find themselves on even crazier adventures. Be it tsunamis, sasquatches or even forest demons, “Smiling Friends” offers a wide range of entertainment.
What truly makes “Smiling Friends” stand out from other adult comedy shows is its humor. “Smiling Friends” doesn’t use the stereotypical shock value of comedy shows, which is often offensive humor. The characters’ dialogue is incredibly realistic with entire scenes perfectly encapsulating the awkwardness of simple things such as asking an employee where they keep certain items. While most people might think that this approach would make a show unbearable to watch, the dialogue ties well into its uncanny humor and not only makes it entertaining but incredibly memeable.
“I love ‘Smiling Friends’ because the characters talk so realistically. It makes it so relatable and funny to watch because you’ll have these funky looking characters talking like normal or acting like literal nutjobs. I believe that ‘Smiling Friends’ should not only have more seasons, but its popularity needs to reach the same global scale of merch and fandom that ‘Star Wars’ has,” said junior Allison Massey.
“Smiling Friends” doesn’t just stand out for its humor, it also stands out for this art style. The show takes on a very simple art style while simultaneously using vivid colors. This style adds an almost childlike innocence to the overall aesthetic. The show also blends 2D and 3D animation together. One of the creators, Zach Bell, is a very well known artist online known as “psychicpebbles.”
“Smiling Friends” isn’t just any other comedy with a laugh track, reusing the same jokes that two billion other comedies have done. Instead, it tries a newer, fresher approach, mixing chronically online humor with realistic scenarios. It perfectly encapsulates people’s need for change in not only the comedy landscape but also the adult animation scene. In recent years, 2D animation has almost become extinct with studios such as Disney giving more money to CGI projects. We, as the people with power over their wallets, should support shows like “Smiling Friends” which are made up of smaller, more creative teams with very little funding, yet still manage to create amazing works of art.
