Cusack and Hadel emphasized that “this was our decision” to end Smiling Friends and that Adult Swim executives were supportive of it.
The duo explained their reasons.
“After we finished Season 3, Zach and I both had the same feeling where we feel pretty burnt out after putting years and years into this, but also pretty accomplished, like we just came to this feeling we’re all like, I think that could just be it after Season 3,” Cusack said.
Added Hadel, “From the very, very beginning of the show, we always said, Oh, man, how great would it be to try to make the show as good as it could be, put 110% into it, and then go out what feels like on top, what feels like leave them wanting more, rather than people going, ‘Oh, that show is still on the air’. After several years of really, really grinding on this show, non-stop, without any breaks, 24/7, we got to a point where we just felt like that’s a good spot to end it. We wouldn’t want to be doing more seasons with half- hearted or burnt out or not feeling it. That’s not fair to us. It’s not fair to the audience to give you guys f*cking slop.”
Cusack and Hadel thanked fans for embracing the show in such a big way. Smiling Friends has been one of Adult Swim’s top-performing shows on HBO Max outside of Rick and Morty.
“It’s been a ride of a lifetime, Cusack said. “The show got way bigger than either of us ever imagined: all the fan art, all the costumes, people sharing memes, all of it.”
They urged other shows to hire the Smiling Friends crew.
As Cusack and Hadel noted in their message to fans, the two will continue to work together. Deadline revealed exclusively in October that the duo and producer Aron Fromm had teamed to launch Zam Studios, a new Los Angeles-based independent animation studio.
Smiling Friends is available to stream the following day on HBO Max. Season 3 finds Pim, Charlie, Flint and the whole gang going absolutely bonkers once again, diving headfirst into their ultimate quest to spread joy upon the land. The series is produced by Williams Street, Adult Swim’s in-house production company.
An important announcement from Michael and Zach pic.twitter.com/wVGLap6yrc
— adult swim (@adultswim) February 26, 2026
