Season 2 of Smiling Friends premiered on April Fools' Day, but the rest of the season will continue to air next month.
Created by Zach "psychicpebbles" Hadel and Michael Cusack, Smiling Friends is an adult animated series about a company dedicated to making people smile, led by Charlie, Pim, Allan, Glep, and their employer, Mr. Boss.
After its first season aired to critical and audience acclaim in 2022, Smiling Friends was quickly renewed for a second season by Adult Swim.
[ Smiling Friends Season 2 Gets Official Release Window ]
When Will Season 2 of Smiling Friends Release?
Season 2 of Smiling Friends already premiered on Adult Swim's annual April Fools' Day event on April 1, following has-been video game mascot Gwimbly taking the internet by storm with his unique low-polygon PlayStation 1-inspired animation and the episode's lampooning of video game CEOs.
That episode will air again on Adult Swim alongside the next episode, "Mr. President," on Sunday, May 12, at midnight ET/PT. The next day, both will be available to stream on Max.
However, it is unknown if, like Season 1, Adult Swim will not unpromptedly release the whole second season as another surprise for late-night audiences. Some signs point to a weekly release, with episode 3, "A Allan Adventure," being listed by Rotten Tomatoes to air on May 19.
Additionally, considering how much Gwimbly alone absolutely exploded in popularity, it would be surprising for the programming block not to opt for a weekly release.
Who's Cast in Smiling Friends Season 2?
With only eight episodes, Season 1 of Smiling Friends amassed a massive cast of colorful and zany characters, with multiple guest stars such as Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things, the late Gilbert Gottfried, and other minor internet personalities.
Here's every known actor currently set to appear in Season 2:
- Michael Cusack - Pim Pimling, Allan, Mr. Frog, and many more
- Zach Hadel - Charlie Dompler, Glep, Gwimbly, and many more
- Marc M. - Mr. Boss
- Joshua Tomar - Count Groxia, and more
- Harry Partridge - William Worm, and more
The rest of the cast is currently unknown, but this season will surely have more guest actors, much like the first. Not to mention presumably other returning talent like Mick Lauer and Erica Lindbeck, who voiced multiple characters last season.
The Season 2 trailer already revealed one new guest star: Joel Haver, best known for his animated short "Playing an RPG for the first time," who voices a disgruntled construction worker animated in his unique and imperfect rotoscoping animation style.
What Will Happen in Smiling Friends Season 2?
An early preview for the next episode, "Mr. President," shows Charlie's aversion to politics put in the spotlight as he has to help President Gimble smile during a mid-term election against his promising opponent, Squiggly Miggly.
Episode 3, "A Allan Adventure," is supposedly about Allan "finding more paper clips for the office," something he was particularly anal about in the original pilot. The Season 2 trailer shows the red-colored employee water skiing, confronting Big Foot in a cave, and desperately clinging to a helicopter as fighter jets shoot at him.
Another episode will focus on Pim and Charlie attempting to survive an alien abduction. In 2023, Adult Swim previewed early work on the episode at New York Comic Con, showing Pim assuming that Charlie would enjoy hanging out with UFO hunters.
As for the rest of the episodes, one is certain to focus on Mr. Frog, causing even more mayhem than in his debut episode. Another seems to take place in a deadly construction site, starring Haver.
Other snippets include the Abominable Snowman having beef with Pim and Charlie, the two meeting a man named Professor Psychotic, and the US military invading another country. However, whether these won't just be one-off gags or part of B-plots of other episodes is uncertain.
Smiling Friends Season 2 will continue and air on Adult Swim on May 12.
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