"Common Side Effects" Trailer: Adult Swim's New Offbeat Cartoon Series Tackles Big Pharma and Magic Mushrooms From Exec. Producers Mike Judge and Greg Daniels
Adult Swim’s New Animated Series Takes a Darkly Comedic Jab at Big Pharma and the Healthcare Industry From Scsvengers Reign co-creator Joseph Bennett and Comic Writer Steve Hely
In its heyday, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim was the premier late-night television programming block, offering cutting-edge animations and uniquely bizarre sketch comedy shows. It was the hottest place for radical cartoons and offbeat humor. Nowadays, with streaming platforms becoming more prevalent and willing to take on riskier content, Adult Swim has become somewhat of a relic of cable TV. But that doesn't mean they don’t still have anything to offer—at least it looks like they’ve still got a promising project on the horizon.
Common Side Effects is a new offbeat animated series premiering next month in February on Adult Swim. While it may not seem to be pushing the envelope in the same way as some of its predecessors, it is tackling the hot-button topics of big pharma, corruption in the healthcare industry, and the use of alternative medicine, all with a comedic, deadpan slant. While we suspect the show isn’t aiming to delve into the current controversy surrounding these issues, it’s refreshing to see a comedy having fun at its expense.
Hailing from the minds of creators Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely, Common Side Effects follows two high school friends, Marshall and Frances, who reconnect after discovering a magical secret mushroom with healing properties that can cure just about every ailment in the world.
Marshall (voiced by comic actor and writer Dave King, from Parks and Recreation and The Good Place) is a burnt-out bearded hippie type with a pet turtle and an unironically worn bucket hat. He’s the one who stumbles upon this new healing mushroom species. Frances (voiced by Veep actress Emily Pendergast), however, is a low-ranking employee at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, working under the company’s incompetent and thick-headed CEO, Rick Kruger (voiced by Mike Judge, Emmy-winning creator of Beavis and Butt-Head, Office Space, Silicon Valley, and King of the Hill).
Marshall and Frances decide to turn the mushroom discovery into a new drug and take it to market, only to discover the hard truth: the pharmaceutical industry and the government aren’t in the business of curing people—they’re in the business of pushing and selling more drugs to the sick, and keeping the public as sick as possible.
Like we said, Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely created this animated series. Bennett is also known as the co-creator of the pleasantly bizarre science-fiction, yet now-canceled animated show Scavengers Reign, which premiered on MAX in 2023 and has since garnered a cult following on Netflix. Hely, on the other hand, is a comedian and comedy writer with a strong pedigree, having worked on Late Show with David Letterman, 30 Rock, and The Office.
Mike Judge is not just on the voice cast but also lends his expertise as an executive producer alongside Emmy-winning Parks and Recreation co-creator Greg Daniels. Judge and Daniels have previously worked together on King of the Hill, following Daniels's stint on the writing staff of The Simpsons.
Comedian Martha Kelly (Baskets) lends her voice in the cast of Common Side Effects, which also includes Joseph Lee Anderson.
The show's unique art design, where all the characters have slightly exaggerated heads, comes from the talents of the series co-creator Joe Bennett and artist Wesley McClain, who serves as the lead art director. Bennett and McClain previously collaborated on the animated short called "Radio" (watch it below).
Common Side Effects is set to premiere on Feb. 2nd on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.
You can also check out a couple of first look extended previews for Common Side Effects, posted below.