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

Smiling Friends Season 3 Preview: Silly Samuel's Done Being Silly

S**t gets a little too real for Silly Samuel in the latest look at Adult Swim and Michael Cusack & Zach Hadel's Smiling Friends Season 3.

When we last checked in on the world of Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel's Smiling Friends ahead of the animated series' return for a third season (Sunday, October 5th, at 11:30 pm ET/PT), Charlie and Pim were doing their best to help their latest client, "Silly Samuel" (also the title of the season premiere), find his smile. Unfortunately, the doctor had some bad news for Silly: if he tries to change his physical appearance, he dies. That's where the previous preview stopped; now, we're getting a look at what happened after the Silly got the bad news. Let's just say that Silly wasn't interested in embracing his "silliness" side, someone gets hurt, and quite a few f-bombs are dropped.

Here's an extended look at S03E01: "Silly Samuel," followed by the previously released first look and what else we've learned about the third season of Adult Swim's Smiling Friends:

Earlier this month, Cusack and Hadel raised the bar with a Season 3 teaser that also offered a rundown of the episode titles and overviews, as well as some looks at the animatics from each. If you thought the trailer was great, just check out the details below…

Adult Swim's Smiling Friends Offers Up Some "Smiling Shorts"

In the second "Smiling Shorts," it's another job well done for Charlie and Pim, and Roy Dismey (Hmmm…) really appreciates them helping him get his smile back. But as you're about to see, there might be another reason why Roy's smiling. Here's a look at the latest "Smiling Shorts," followed by a look back at the first episode and more:

In the first "Smiling Shorts" from earlier this summer, Charlie tries his best not to hurt Pim's feelings over Pim's irreversible surgery. Does it go well? No. No, it does not…

Hadel and Cusack Want Series to Have "Always Sunny" Vibes

During Adult Swim's presentation at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival, Hadel and Cusack addressed whether viewers should expect the series to take on darker and/or more serious themes during future seasons – similar to what we've seen from other animated series that have those "special" episodes.

"A lot of comedy shows, like you say, tend to get serious," Hadel shared in response to a question from an attendee. "I don't think Charlie and Pim could cry, and anybody would care. It would just be annoying. So it would probably end before it gets to that point." Hadel continued, "This show is hopefully kind of an escape. We always think about when we worked minimum-wage jobs; we would get home and just want to watch YouTube cartoons and South Park and [It's] Always Sunny [in Philadelphia]. There's something nice about being a little comedy thing, and that's it."

And there it is! Are we surprised? No – but being a diehard fan of FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I know that we don't always tend to go public a lot with our love for the greatest sitcom to ever grace a television screen. So when one of us does, it's nice to see – and when it's two talented folks like Cusack and Hadel, even more so.

"Something like 'South Park,' when I saw that episode when Stan gets depressed, I loved that because Trey [Parker] and Matt [Stone] are so great at that when they get serious. I just think we like keeping a continuous tone with 'Smiling Friends,' where you can tune in in any season. You don't really know where you are," Cusack added. And for those of you wondering when the season-long serialized storylines are going to kick in, Hadel makes it clear that fans shouldn't be holding their collective breath for them anytime soon. "I don't think we'll ever do serialization. It's supposed to just be popcorn. It's McDonald's of TV,' Hadel explained.

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