Posted in: Adult Swim, Max, Opinion, Preview, TV, TV, YouTube | Tagged: Adult Swim, april fools day, opinion, season 2, smiling friends

Smiling Friends, Adult Swim & April Fool's Day Converge This Weekend

Michael Cusack's and Zach Hadel's Smiling Friends is returning on a holiday that Adult Swim has become famous for - April Fool's Day.

We've got a look at a video compilation featuring the work of famed British clay animator Lee Hardcastle's (The ABCs of Death, Rick and Morty: Summer's Sleepover) Adult Swim ID shorts, a look at the second season coming up this weekend during WonderCon 2024, and the actual series return on Sunday, March 31st, at midnight. If you're a fan of Michael Cusack's (YOLO: Crystal Fantasy) & Zach Hadel's (Hellbenders) Smiling Friends, then you're having a pretty good week. Far be it from us to piss on anyone's Corn Flakes… but we have to revisit a point we brought up when we first covered the news that the animated series would be returning this weekend. When new Smiling Friends is set to hit our screens, it will technically be April 1st – April Fool's Day.

For those of you familiar with Adult Swim and April Fool's Days, then you know that pretty much anything & everything is fair game. Sure, we could get a new episode… maybe two… maybe they marathon the entire season. Or maybe it's the ultimate prank and we don't end up getting anything – but I'm not feeling that one. We're definitely getting something – I'm just not buying into the idea that it's just going to be a "typical" screening. Of course, maybe Adult Swim is using Smiling Friends as a cover for some kind of swerve we can't see coming. I mean, they did turn a holiday Yule log into a horrifying film experience.

On Saturday, March 30th, WonderCon (Room North 200A) will be the home to an official panel where Cusack & Hadel will offer a "special look" at the upcoming season. Here's the official overview for the session: "Adult Swim's SMILING FRIENDS – Get ready for the return of Pim, Charlie, and the rest of the gang dedicated to bringing happiness to their bizarre and colorful world in the second season of SMILING FRIENDS! Join series co-creators and stars Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel for a special look at the new season of the weirdly warm and oddly relatable workplace comedy that could only exist on Adult Swim."

Here's a look back at Adult Swim's personalized "ball drop" from New Year's Eve, ahead of the Smiling Friends marathon (but no news on the second season – as much as we were hoping otherwise):

October's New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2023 brought fans an update on how things were looking with the second season. Along with a confirmation that 2024 will bring Season 2, viewers can expect a wide range of visuals coming their way – from 2D & 3D to stop-motion & live-action. In addition, they can look forward to the return of none other than Ulysses Walter Frog – otherwise known as "Mr. Frog" from The Mr. Frog Show.

And since we have you here – and in case you might've missed it the first time around – here's a look back at what we humbly consider to be the funniest moment (a two-part moment, technically) from the first season – S01E08: "Charlie Dies and Doesn't Come Back." And just to be clear, Charlie gave Jeremy more than enough warning. What happened was all on him – we've got Charlie's back. Following that, we have a look back at the series overview and official trailer:

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