On February 25, 2026, the creators of the beloved animated hit Smiling Friends, Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack announced on social media that the series would be ending after season three. During their six-minute video, they stated that the reason behind this decision was due to feeling burned out from working on this project for years.

The series first aired on April 1, 2020 (April Fools’ Day… tehee). Season three premiered in October of 2025, spanning a five-year production that has birthed some of the most memorable characters and deep guttural laughs of the decade. The project gained a massive fanbase online ranging from cosplay, fan art, and many amazingly hand-crafted items on Etsy, as well as eventually launching lines of official merchandise for the colorful cast. However, despite its spark of love and creativity, these fruits did not come without the cost of tremendous labor that went into making the show.

Back when season one was in production, Zach Hadel mentioned on The Create Unknown podcast his frustrations with how the budget was billed. Unnecessary charges that cost their weekly budget thousands, ending up as waste that could have be used towards many other aspects in the show, or even as extra payment to their crew. Not having the autonomy over how that money is spent for your creation is imaginably stressful.

Hadel said: “The entire budget of the first season, was about the equivalent to one episode of Family Guy.” Cusack said: “We had an amazing team, it was just hard for them, us, pretty much everyone because we’re just pushing as far as we could go with it.” – The Create Unknown podcast, 2022

Despite this, they made it through a third season. Adult Swim then offered them two more. After a long and thought-out decision, the creators said no… much to fans’ disappointment.

Hadel states: “The biggest misconception is people thinking that we were creatively burnt out, or we didn’t have any ideas. That’s the opposite of true. It’s hard for people to understand because, when you’re watching Family Guy or South Park, it’s like, ‘But Smiling Friends is half the length of those.” We had a much smaller budget and much, much, much smaller crew. Those shows have entire writer’s rooms. Michael and I are the creators, the directors, the writers, the voice actors — we’re there beginning to end, all the way through.” – The Hollywood Reporter, 2026

On July 15, 2026, Smiling Friends received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. Fans across the nation are all wondering if this could mean a return for the beloved cartoon. When creator Zach Hadel is asked about the likelihood for more episodes, he says, “It really does change day to day. But it’s not zero.”