February 26, 2026

The creators of Smiling Friends, Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, have announced that the animated series is ending with its recently concluded third season. The duo released the news via an audio message on the Adult Swim X account. They did have a small bonus for fans, though, announcing that two extra episodes will be released on April 12. They're considered part of Season 3, but were not crafted as a series finale.

"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, like we just just came to this feeling we're all like, I think that could just be it after Season 3," said Cusack. "We both felt like it was right."

"Even 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, and really 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," added Hadel. "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. And we wouldn't want to be doing more seasons half-hearted or burnt out or not feeling it. That's not fair to us. It's not fair to the audience."

The show follows Smiling Friends Inc., a small charity whose mission is to bring happiness to the world. Its representatives are the cynic Charlie and the optimist Pim, and they spend their days helping out the troubled people who call their hotline.