The Best Animated Comedy Right Now Is Also The Most Realistic (& I’m So Glad It’s Returning For Season 3)

Summary Smiling Friends stands out because of its realistic dialogue, which is unlike other adult animated shows.

Smiling Friends' creators, Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, began as YouTubers, and that background has influenced the genuine conversations in their show.

The casual and easy-to-watch nature of Smiling Friends builds a strong connection with the audience.

Smiling Friends is the best adult animated comedy that's currently being released, and one crucial part of it also makes it the most realistic. Smiling Friends follows the misadventures of Charlie, Pim, Allan, Glep, and Mr. Boss, the people who run a charity dedicated to helping people smile. It's a wholesome presence, but it also allows for some truly absurd situations that rival even the best adult animated shows. Smiling Friends is so good that I think it's not only one of the best animated comedies, it may be one of the best TV shows on Max, and it's largely because it's so unique.

Smiling Friends is similar to Rick and Morty and several other adult animated shows, but it also sets itself apart in a few key ways. One of its most unique aspects is its variety of animation styles. Most of Smiling Friends uses standard 2D animation, but certain characters and moments will use anything from CGI to rotoscope animation. Smiling Friends also has a unique brand of humor that has heavily been influenced by the internet, and it relies on that internet humor more than any other show is willing to. What really sets Smiling Friends apart, though, is also what makes it so realistic.

Related 10 Animated Shows Perfect For Fans Of Adult Swim's Smiling Friends Adult Swim's Smiling Friends is a breath of fresh air in the world of adult animation, but that doesn't mean it is without contemporaries.

Smiling Friends’ Best Trait Is That Its Dialogue Sounds So Realistic

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Smiling Friends, as a whole, is anything but realistic. Many of Charlie and Pim's adventures are completely absurd and downright strange, whether that be getting abducted by party animal aliens or literally dying and going to hell. The best part about Smiling Friends, however, is how realistic its dialogue is. Even as Charlie, Pim, Glep, Allan and all the other characters are faced with the most intense and far-fetched situations, they still talk like normal people. Many dark comedies put their characters in ridiculous situations, but that realistic dialogue is what sets Smiling Friends apart from other adult animated shows.

Smiling Friends seasons 1 & 2 are available to stream on Max.

A great example of Smiling Friends' uniquely realistic dialogue comes from the episode "Brother's Egg." Charlie and Pim were tasked with helping an evil scientist smile, and after succeeding, his experimental homunculus hatched. It was an extremely odd situation, but instead of doubling down and trying to make it even more absurd, like many other dark comedies would, Charlie simply begins to complain about all the weird things he and Pim experience. They even began to talk over each other and stutter, and it felt more like a genuine conversation than scripted dialogue.

Smiling Friends’ Dialogue Makes Sense Given The Show’s Creators

Smiling Friends was created by Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, and some of their earlier work helps explain why their show has such realistic dialogue. Both Hadel and Cusack began as YouTubers: Hadel is a member of the channel OneyPlays, where he and his friends play video games and provide commentary, and Cusack posted animated shorts to his channel. Cusack's animation style is very evident in Smiling Friends, but it seems Hadel heavily influenced the show's dialogue. The realistic dialogue between Charlie, Pim, and all the other Smiling Friends characters seems very similar to the sense of humor Hadel had on OneyPlays.

Both Hadel and Cusack provide their own voices for a variety of Smiling Friends characters. Hadel voices Charlie and Glep, while Cusack voices Pim and Allan, and they both voice a variety of side characters as well.

Most OneyPlays videos follow the Let's Play format: Chris O'Neil, the channel's creator, plays a game while talking to his friends, and their conversation provides most of the entertainment value. That casual format lets many of the channel's jokes come up naturally in the flow of conversation, and it results in some very realistic dialogue. OneyPlays videos feel like listening in on a conversation between friends - because that's exactly what it is. In essence, Smiling Friends' dialogue is just a more structured version of OneyPlays' humor. Smiling Friends uses the same type of casual, realistic conversations that made OneyPlays popular, it's just scripted out beforehand.

The dialogue sets Smiling Friends apart from other shows, but it also makes it better than its competition. The casual nature of Smiling Friends' dialogue captures exactly the allure of Let's Play YouTube channels: it's exceptionally easy to watch. I love it so much because, like any YouTube video, I can jump into any episode of Smiling Friends, not needing to know any backstory. Also, Smiling Friends excels at making the audience feel like the people they're watching are their friends, rather than entertainers. Smiling Friends essentially captured the entire idea of parasocial relationships that the internet thrives on and put it on television.

Why Smiling Friends Season 3 Is So Exciting

Through its unique dialogue, Smiling Friends has quickly become my favorite animated comedy. That's why I'm so excited that Smiling Friends season 3 has already been confirmed by Adult Swim (via The Hollywood Reporter). Luckily, during the announcement, Hadel and Cusack confirmed a very promising part of Smiling Friends season 3. They said that the show would never get more dramatic or serious, and that it would always just be a show about normal friends in strange circumstances that change from week to week. Hadel and Cusack's comments indicate that they know what makes Smiling Friends unique, and they're going to continue to prioritize it.

Another reason I'm excited for Smiling Friends season 3 is because Hadel and Cusack have already proven they're improving. Smiling Friends season 1 was an excellent debut, but season 2 proved that they could get even more absurd while having even more realistic moments of dialogue. The show has only been on an upward trend since it started, and with another season of experience under their belt and support from Adult Swim, I'm supremely confident that Hadel and Cusack can make Smiling Friends season 3 its best installment yet.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter