The third season of Smiling Friends, Adult Swim’s most popular original series since Rick and Morty, premiered on October 5, 2025. If you’re even remotely plugged into Adult Swim’s content, then you’ve more than likely seen the 24/7 stream on YouTube that’s been running over the past month. I feel like every time I put it on, which is more often than I’d like to admit, there are well over a thousand other fans reciting the lines with me. I can’t help it; the show’s humor is in a league of its own, offering a balance of absurdity, internet culture, and relatable dialogue.

When the episode “The Smiling Friends Go To Brazil” came on, I told my wife, “This is when the show became art.” This is the Smiling Friends version of Seinfeld’s iconic “The Chinese Restaurant” episode, where nothing happens. Smiling Friends has more of an actual plot and agency than Seinfeld, but this is the affirmation that the show’s humor comes from its dialogue. Yet in reality, we should have known that the show was destined for greatness in the very first episode.

The ‘Smiling Friends’ Pilot Remains One Of Its Best Episodes

“Desmond’s Big Day Out” is the series premiere of Smiling Friends, introducing us to the show’s dynamic. Smiling Friends is a charitable organization whose goal is to make people smile. This task is primarily carried out by employees Pim, an eternal optimist, and Charlie, a slacker who rarely takes things seriously.

Their boss, Mr. Boss, lets them know when someone has called in asking for some help with smiling. In this episode’s case, it’s a mother worried about her son, Desmond. Charlie and Pim then head out to their house, where we presume Desmond is a young child. Pim, who excitedly shouts, “I love kids,” which Charlie rightfully says isn’t the best of ideas, is excited about helping a young child smile.

So imagine our surprise when Desmond is actually a middle-aged man in his underwear who is permanently aiming a gun at his head. It’s such an absurd revelation that I can’t help but laugh, especially since he maintains this pose throughout the episode. At the amusement park, at a party, during a family dinner, there’s Desmond, in his boxers, with a gun pointed at his head.

Eventually, Desmond finds his purpose by resolving the episode’s B-plot of an infestation at Smiling Friends HQ, which is another Seinfeld-esque plot twist where everything comes together at the end of the episode, and it’s a successful mission. Of course, in the show’s episode, I’m talking about making Desmond smile. I smiled too, of course, which is represents another successful mission: making the viewer smile.

The Creators of ‘Smiling Friends’ Have Been Working Together For Years

Smiling Friends is the creation of Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, best known for the web series OneyPlays. If you’ve ever watched an episode of OneyPlays, where Cusack, Hadel, and Chris O’Neill (who also works on Smiling Friends), two things will become immediately clear. First, the voices will sound familiar, as they closely resemble those of the series. Second, the dialogue and banter that have made Smiling Friends a success are on full display here.

It’s one thing to write mundane, relatable dialogue, but you need strong chemistry from your cast to make it happen. Chemistry is something Cusack, Hadel, and company have in spades. It’s not that I just enjoy watching an episode where characters, say, are waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, or just realized they flew to Brazil without booking a hotel. I enjoy watching how the characters react to the situation, how they play off each other, and the hilarity that ensues.

In what feels like an endless sea of spin-offs, reboots, and nostalgia bait, Smiling Friends transcends the animated genre to capture the essence of our favorite shows growing up, without being afraid to be its own thing.

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