Adult Swim’s Smiling Friends to End With Season 3

Smiling Friends creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel haven’t made it a secret that they weren’t anticipating keeping the popular Adult Swim show running forever. While many theorized that this meant the fan-favorite animated series would end with season five, considering the Cartoon Network programming block had re-upped the show for two additional seasons. Unfortunately, the creators have shared devastating news that they plan on only airing two more episodes of Smiling Friends before bringing it to a close. In an earth-shattering announcement, Hadel and Cusack explained their decision and when we can expect the series finale.

Taking to social media, Hadel and Cusack shared the decision, with Michael stating that season three felt like the right time to say goodbye to Charlie and Pim, “To be perfectly honest, after we finished Season 3, Zach and I just both had the same feeling where we felt pretty burnt out after putting years and years into this, but also pretty accomplished. We just came to this feeling where we were like, ‘I think that could just be it,’ after Season 3.” The pair also confirmed that the final two episodes will air on April 12th later this Spring, meaning fans won’t have to wait long to see how the Adult Swim juggernaut wraps.

Why is Smiling Friends Ending?

The creative pair didn’t mince words when it came to their reasoning as to why they decided to cut the series short despite Adult Swim renewing the show for two additional seasons, “We wouldn’t want to be doing more seasons half-hearted or burnt out or not feeling it. That’s not fair to us, and it’s not fair to the audience to give you guys f***ing slop. That sucks.” After Hadel laid this out, Cusack added that Adult Swim has been very supportive, with the decision lying squarely on the creators.

Luckily for Smiling Friends’ fans, Michael confirmed that, should they ever feel like returning to this strange animated world, Adult Swim is open to leaving the door ajar for their return, “When we told them exactly this, they said, ‘If you’re not feeling like making a cartoon, we’re not going to stop you. Go have a break. Either come back or don’t,” Cusack continued. “That’s the other thing, we could come back in the future and make more episodes if we want, if we feel like it. And they’ve been super cool and said they would let us do that. But maybe not. Who knows?”

For those hoping to receive a proper series finale in these final two episodes, you might be saddened to learn that the upcoming installments aren’t set to wrap Charlie and Pim’s tale in a final sort of way. Hadel referred to the last pair of episodes as “little stragglers,” with Cusack stating, “We know this is very disappointing. It’s been very hard to even record this recording for it because it’s just a very difficult thing to say for us. We hope you understand, and we hope you’ve enjoyed what we’ve done. It’s been amazing. The fans have been so good. It’s been the best. It’s been the ride of a lifetime. But I hope you see where we are coming from.”

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