Posted in: Adult Swim, TV | Tagged: smiling friends

Smiling Friends Creators on Ending Show, S04 Scripts & Return Chances

Smiling Friends creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel on deciding to shelve the series, Season 4 scripts, and the possibility of a return.

With Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel's Smiling Friends S03E02: "Le Voyage Incroyable De Monsieur Grenouille" going up against FOX's Bob's Burgers, Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, FOX's The Simpsons, Comedy Central's South Park, and Disney+'s Star Wars: Visions for Best Animated Program at this year's Emmy Awards, Cusack and Hadel have been making the rounds to discuss the recently wrapped series. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the duo offered additional insights into why they shelved the series and where they stand on a possible return down the road.

Cusack & Hadel on Making the Call to End "Smiling Friends" After 3 Seasons: "Every season's been hard to make, and that's just the nature of the show. At the end of season three, both Zach and I talked to each other and were just like, 'Our tank is empty right now.' We just knew it was right to end it there. We slept on it and came back a week or two later and were like, 'We can't go into it when we're feeling like this, so let's just end it,'" Cusack shared.

Hadel added, "The biggest misconception is people thinking that we were creatively burnt out, or we didn't have any ideas. That's the opposite of true. It's hard for people to understand because, when you're watching 'Family Guy' or 'South Park,' it's like, 'But [Smiling Friends] is half the length of those.' We had a much smaller budget and much, much, much smaller crew. Those shows have entire writers rooms. Michael and I are the creators, the directors, the writers, the voice actors – we're there beginning to end, all the way through. We still have a Google doc full of a bunch of ideas, but we wouldn't have been happy doing it. It wouldn't have been bad, but it just would have lost the juice. It would have lost the spark."

Cusack & Hadel Still Think About The Future of "Smiling Friends": "We had scripts ready for season four, even if it was draft-y. In a few years, if Zach and I feel like making the show again, we'll dig them out and see if they're worth making or if we want to start fresh again," Cusack shared. When asked what the percentage chance was of more episodes in the future, Hadel seemed to leave the door open to that possibility much more than when the news first dropped earlier this year. "It's not low. It's not 90 percent. It was a very difficult decision to make, but it was the right one. Michael, what do you think – 25, 30 percent?" Hadel shared. When the interviewer said they were "hoping" for 60%, Hadel added, "Can we say this? Some days, it's 60. Some days, it's 80. Some days, it's 20. It really does change day to day. But it's not zero."

"2 pictures side by side of the start of 'Smiling Friends' 8 years ago and the end with [Zach Hadel] and I at Yum Yum donuts in Burbank, California. We would wander around different places in Burbank talking about the show and coming up with episode ideas, which consisted of a lot of imagining what Mr. Frog would smash and destroy around us," Cusack wrote as the caption to an Instagram post that was also shared by Hadel. "We're so proud of this show and continue to be blown away by the fandom which loves it as much as we do. It was such an insane, amazing journey to make this and we really appreciate everyone who watched it and the incredible crew who worked on it, and of course [Adult Swim] for making it happen. We love you all and thank you for allowing us to make you smile, you made us smile even more!"

As for why they ended the series, Cusack and Hadel shared that when the announcement first went down, they had said all they wanted to say and that now was the time to wrap things up before the series became something less than what they envisioned. While they left the door slightly open to a special or something along those lines in the future, for now, the beloved animated series has wrapped. Here's a look back at what Cusack and Hadel had to share earlier this year:

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!