{"id":5611,"date":"2026-08-19T18:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5611"},"modified":"2026-08-19T18:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:05:53","slug":"could-smiling-friends-return-after-its-emmy-breakthrough-its-creators-say-the-odds-are-not-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5611","title":{"rendered":"Could \u2018Smiling Friends\u2019 Return After its Emmy Breakthrough? Its Creators Say The Odds are \u201cNot Zero\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tSmiling Friends<\/em> is leaving on a positive note.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter launching in 2022, the absurdist animated series gained a rabid Gen Z fan base that obsessed over the exploits of Pim and Charlie as they worked to spread happiness. Despite Adult Swim having renewed Smiling Friends<\/em> for two more seasons, creators Michael Cusack (who voices Pim) and Zach Hadel (Charlie) announced in February that they were \u201cburnt out\u201d and would abruptly end the show with the previously aired third season.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Good American Family\u2019 Renewed at Hulu, With Season 2 Tackling Lorena Bobbitt<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tFans got a new reason to smile when the program was nominated for the best animated series Emmy, marking its first nom and competing with stalwarts The Simpsons<\/em> and South Park<\/em>. Hadel, 33, and Cusack, a 35-year-old Aussie, discuss taking new risks with season three, casting a star of The Office <\/em>despite never having seen the show and the odds of more Smiling Friends<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\nWhat goes through your mind when you get that first Emmy nom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nZACH HADEL<\/strong> I say, \u201cHoly crap.\u201d You can censor that out. I woke up to about a million text messages and missed phone calls. It\u2019s surreal to see our tiny, 10-minute Adult Swim show next to these giants like South Park<\/em> or The Simpsons<\/em>, which we grew up on.<\/p>\n

\nMICHAEL CUSACK<\/strong> Very honored. Very unexpected. We\u2019ll probably lose, but that\u2019s fine. (Laughs<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\nWhen I congratulated Dan Harmon on <\/strong>Rick and Morty <\/em><\/strong>being nominated in the category, he was honored but said, \u201cI\u2019m happy to watch <\/strong>Smiling Friends<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0win.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> He didn\u2019t say that.<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> Is that real?<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s very real.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> I didn\u2019t even know he knew what Smiling Friends <\/em>was. I think we will lose. We\u2019ll probably cry when we lose, too, and the cameras will show us crying.<\/p>\n

\nHave you been to the Emmys before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> No. We\u2019re not big awards-show guys, but this is the Emmys.<\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> This whole thing is a very nice ending to it.<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> It feels like a nice little pat on the back, like an old man walking into the sunset.<\/p>\n

\nWhat was it about season three, and the Mr. Frog episode that was nominated, that led to this recognition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> This season, and specifically this episode, has raised the bar in terms of technicality. The cinematography of the live-action stuff was a bit more elevated than what we would have done in season one, and even the animation. The Halloween episode showed that, too.<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> We knew the characters to a degree in season one, but if you watch the show, you can feel us understanding the characters more. Then we\u2019re allowed to go a bit wilder with it, get weird with it. We were a lot freer with the writing. We could juggle the little Faberg\u00e9 eggs a bit better without as much fear.<\/p>\n

\nCreed Bratton took to Instagram to congratulate the show\u2019s team for the nomination. How did the <\/strong>Office <\/em><\/strong>alum end up playing Mr. Frog\u2019s live-action dad in green\u00a0paint?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> When we talked about Mr. Frog going back to his family, we just started talking about, \u201cWhat if it\u2019s either a mom or a dad?\u201d Once we thought that maybe it\u2019s a real guy, it just became a lot more interesting to us. Aron [Fromm], our editor and compositor, recommended Creed, whom he knows personally. Neither of us has seen The Office<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Michael Sheen, Wanda Sykes, Tramell Tillman Among Host of \u2018Murderbot\u2019 Season 2 Guest Stars<\/a><\/p>\n

\nWhat?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> I know, I know. That\u2019s a death-penalty offense in America, especially in comedy. So we just started looking at Creed clips. We\u2019re like, \u201cThis guy is pretty funny.\u201d Aron sent a little read of him doing the scene at his dinner table. He killed it and did it better than what we were imagining.<\/p>\n

\nSmiling Friends<\/em><\/strong> had been picked up for two more seasons before you shut it down. What changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> Every season\u2019s been hard to make, and that\u2019s just the nature of the show. At the end of season three, both Zach and I talked to each other and were just like, \u201cOur tank is empty right now.\u201d 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, \u201cWe can\u2019t go into it when we\u2019re feeling like this, so let\u2019s just end it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> The biggest misconception is people thinking that we were creatively burnt out, or we didn\u2019t have any ideas. That\u2019s the opposite of true. It\u2019s hard for people to understand because, when you\u2019re watching Family Guy<\/em> or South Park<\/em>, it\u2019s like, \u201cBut [Smiling Friends<\/em>] is half the length of those.\u201d 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 \u2014 we\u2019re there beginning to end, all the way through. We still have a Google doc full of a bunch of ideas, but we wouldn\u2019t have been happy doing it. It wouldn\u2019t have been bad, but it just would have lost the juice. It would have lost the spark.<\/p>\n

\nWhat is occupying your time these days? Michael, I know you co-created <\/strong>Dad\u2019s House<\/em><\/strong>, which hits Netflix soon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> We developed that in 2015, then it just sat on a shelf. It\u2019s just a way to get out the Australian humor I like to do.<\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> Michael and I are already doing something that\u2019s very small and very stupid. Some people will fucking hate it, but that makes me love it. It might split the audience. (Laughs<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\nYou told me previously that you had started writing scripts for a season four. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCUSACK<\/strong> 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\u2019ll dig them out and see if they\u2019re worth making or if we want to start fresh again.<\/p>\n

\nWhat is the percentage of likelihood that we\u2019ll see more episodes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> It\u2019s not low. It\u2019s not 90 percent. It was a very difficult decision to make, but it was the right one. Michael, what do you think \u2014 25, 30 percent?<\/p>\n

\nFrom the way you were talking, I was hoping 60.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHADEL<\/strong> Can we say this? Some days, it\u2019s 60. Some days, it\u2019s 80. Some days, it\u2019s 20. It really does change day to day. But it\u2019s not zero.<\/p>\n

\nThis story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Wild Horse Nine\u2019 to Open Mill Valley Film Festival With Star Sam Rockwell Set for Tribute (Exclusive)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Smiling Friends return? Creators discuss Emmy nod, season 3, and the chances of a comeback after ending the show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,826,827],"class_list":["post-5611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-awards","tag-emmy-awards","tag-emmys-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nCould \u2018Smiling Friends\u2019 Return After its Emmy Breakthrough? 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