Yesterday, we took a look at a Cartoon Network original aimed at a pretty broad audience. Today, it’s an Adult Swim original very much aimed at an adult audience. Or at least one older than eight. Smiling Friends is the creation of Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel and it’s an animated sitcom about a couple of guys who work for a non-profit dedicated to making people happy. People call in with a problem, and the Smiling Friends spring into action in order to make them feel better. Only this isn’t a show where the characters just dress up as clowns and do a quick a bit to make someone laugh. It’s more that they’re tasked with helping someone out of a depressive episode and the end results often aren’t achieved in the cleanest of manners.

The show premiered originally during an April Fool’s event in 2020 on Adult Swim. The show was well-received, but at the time was basically just a pilot. Adult Swim ended up ordering an entire season which would consist of 8 episodes and apparently had a season budget of 2 million dollars, which is roughly equivalent to the per-episode budget of Family Guy. Adult Swim is somewhat notoriously slow to act when it comes to greenlighting a show or a renewal, which I assume is part of the reason why it wouldn’t premiere properly for nearly two years. This despite the show being digitally animated with a voice cast largely comprised of just Cusack and Hadel. Each episode is roughly 11 minutes and in an odd twist the network chose to burn them all off in a single night, January 10, 2022, which actually means that today’s subject missed the Christmas season by about two weeks. It’s a bit odd, but Adult Swim rarely seems to care about such things.

The main characters of Smiling Friends are Pim (Cusack) and Charlie (Hadel) who are friends and co-workers. Pim is the optimist of the two and would seem especially cut out for the type of job he has. Charlie is essentially the opposite of Pim who really doesn’t want to do anything except show up, do his job, and go home with a steady paycheck to follow. Their boss is simply named Mr. Boss (Marc M.), an old man with a giant head who seems to always be sporting some kind of pants-less bondage apparel. He is a typical terrible boss with unreasonable demands who doesn’t seem to value the lives of his employees, but he makes up for it with a cheerful demeanor. They have some additional co-workers in Glep (Hadel) and Allan (Cusack). Pim, Charlie, Glep, and Allan look more like aliens of some kind. Pim is a little purple guy with a single hair on his head while Charlie is large, yellow, and his head is about 90% nose. Glep is a little green guy with rounded, pincer-like, mandibles and Allan is lanky and red and often wears a tie. I’ve only ever caught a handful of episodes of this show and found it to be pretty typical of Adult Swim in that it’s absurd, but funny. There’s a dryness to the humor in this one and the leads are rather well-defined characters that play off of each other well. A lot of the character designs are crude, but not really ugly. Super Jail is an Adult Swim show I’d call ugly, this is not. There are also different animation techniques at play and guest stars to be found and at 11 minutes it basically doesn’t waste your time.

The final episode of the first season, which is somewhat irrelevant since they all aired on the same day, is the Christmas one “Charlie Dies and Doesn’t Come Back.” It’s not a very festive title, but it doesn’t need to be. The episode begins at the Smiling Friends headquarters where Pim is decorating for the coming holiday. Nobody else seems all that interested with Glep passed out and Charlie playing some kind of computer game. Pim prods Charlie for some help, but he has no interest on account of their shift is about to end and it’s Christmas Eve so he hardly sees a point in decorating now. Mr. Boss then enters with an unreasonable demand of his staff: find a Christmas tree for the office so it can be put up. Charlie is understandably pissed, while Pim is excited for a Christmas adventure! There’s being an optimist, Pim, and there’s you.

Pim, Charlie, Allan, and Glep take a ride out to the woods to apparently chop a tree down. Pim is very enthused about it while Charlie expresses a desire to get this over with. Pim is hurt by Charlie’s lack of enthusiasm and seems to not understand why Charlie is so grumpy. Charlie explains it rather plainly that it’s Christmas Eve and he wants to go home. He tries bringing Allan and Glep into the conversation, but they’re not really interested. Pim expresses his frustration that it’s not just now, but every time they want to do something for work Charlie acts like this. I get the sense that this is something that’s been building all season and is now coming to a head. Pim even makes reference to the first episode by bringing up Desmond.

Allan interrupts the pair to point out a tree that seems fine. Everyone is in agreement that it’s suitable and Charlie takes it upon himself to cut it down to prove to Pim that he can be helpful. As he strikes at the tree with the axe, he taunts Pim who seems wary. I’m guessing he’s uncomfortable which Charlie swinging an axe in anger and not really paying attention to the task at hand. As Charlie calls out, “Is this putting anyone in a bad mood?!” the tree suddenly falls crushing Charlie in the process scattering blood and guts all over the snow. Pim looks horrified, while Allan and Glep look more stunned than anything. We then get a fast assortment of stock, live-action, images. There’s images of space, plants, binary code, a random guy screaming, and it’s all designed to be somewhat random and unsettling because it’s signaling Charlie’s journey to a very special place: Hell.

Or as the creepy screaming face calls it, “H E double hockey sticks!” That’s the face that wakes Charlie up from…death? It’s gruesome, but once the camera isn’t zoomed in on it he looks a bit more cute. He’s some chubby, pink, demon, with a pitchfork and he informs Charlie that he’s the one in charge. He then points out Charlie’s hell mattress and hell toilet that he’ll be utilizing and both are supremely awful and terrible. There’s also Steve, some black, squiggly, guy who just screams and wiggles at Charlie prompting him to threaten Steve with violence if he ever does that again. The demon thing tells him that won’t be happening and that he needs to get used to it because we’re in Hell, baby!

After the little guy is finished threatening Charlie, the background falls down revealing that all of the fire and horror was just a poster taped to the wall. They’re in a cell and it’s pretty plain looking. The demon comes clean when Charlie asks where all the fire is and explains that Satan hasn’t been himself lately. He’s pretty down in the dumps about something which has caused Hell to literally freeze over. Charlie then offers up his services as a Smiling Friend claiming he can help get Satan out of whatever funk he’s in. The demon at first denies Charlie’s request for an audience with Satan and threatens him with his pitchfork, but Charlie points out that it’s made of cardboard and the demon just hangs his head in shame. Defeated, he tells Charlie to just get out of there as he’s making him too depressed. Charlie does just that as the gate was apparently left unlocked leaving Steve to console the weeping demon.

Charlie then exits to find Hell is indeed frozen over. He walks through the snow while demons look frozen and upset about the climate until someone calls out to him. It’s his grandma, and Charlie is pretty surprised to find her condemned to Hell. She seems chipper about it though, and explains that she said “damn” one time in reference to her husband’s murder and that’s the strike that put her in Hell. Charlie comments that it seems pretty harsh, but Grandma doesn’t seem to mind. Charlie then asks her if she knows where he can find Satan and she points out a rather ominous looking pit. Charlie thanks her, and as he leaves she offers him a piece of hard candy which happens to be a dirty looking, oversized, lollipop. Charlie politely declines and Grandma is happy to keep it for herself as she shoves the whole thing in her mouth and makes unpleasant sucking sounds.

Charlie heads down the pit and it’s set to a musical number. It’s a bit of a jazzy sounding song with lyrics such as “It’s Christmas time in H-E-Double-L,” and during the song we see Charlie encounter a bunch of horrible things like predatory demons, fire-breathing monsters, and hordes of little, red, creatures he has to walk over. His journey ends at a frozen lake with what Charlie assumes marks the end of the worst of it. Then Steve pops up in his face screaming again and Charlie socks him right in what I assume is his stomach. As he doubles over in pain, Charlie taunts him by saying he promised he would do that to him if he ever did that again showing no remorse for Steve’s pain. Charlie then walks across the ice while the frozen heads of the damned trapped in the ice taunt him, except the last one who apologizes for not being able to think of something. Charlie takes it in stride telling him “No pressure.”

Charlie arrives at two large doors and works up the courage to knock. Once he does, a booming voice from behind the door asks him why he’s come here. Charlie replies “To make you smile,” and the doors open. Inside, Charlie meets Satan, who is a massive, hideous, demon, seated at a computer playing a game. He’s pretty chill for the lord of darkness, and Charlie asks him what’s wrong. Satan explains in a rather casual manner that he’s simply lost his enthusiasm for the job. The worst part is, he doesn’t get paid until the job is done, and considering it’s for eternity, he’s essentially never been paid. He explains that he just doesn’t care at this point and turns to his game. Charlie proposes that if he can help get him out of this depression that Satan let him return to the world of the living and he agrees. They’re then interrupted by a delivery man and there’s a somewhat awkward exchange of food and the driver requesting to take a picture of the food as proof of delivery and such before finally leaving. Satan then inspects the contents of the bag which includes a massive burger, fries, and a drink. He’s irritated that they, once again, forgot the straw.

As Satan chows down, Charlie points out that maybe he’s lost some of his enthusiasm because he’s stuck in a loop and relying on these quick dopamine hits via junk food and other vices. Satan is immediately put off by this accusation and turns to a vape pen to calm his nerves. Charlie points out that this is just more of said behavior and that’s the last straw (heh). Satan orders him to be tortured and some of his minions come out and strap him down to a rack table. While they crank on it, the little, red, demon guys from earlier start stabbing Charlie and then Steve shows up to get some revenge by punching him in the face. Now Satan is fired up as he tells Charlie it gives him great joy to inflict torture on a pathetic creature like him. This is it! Satan is out of his loop and Charlie points this out to him. Satan thinks about it for a second, and then agrees with Charlie’s take, but since he did piss him off he’s not going to be letting him go anytime soon. Charlie points out that isn’t fair, but Satan doesn’t care because he’s, well, Satan!

From off camera, we hear an unmistakable voice shout “A deal’s a deal.” It’s the late, great, Gilbert Gottfried, but he’s not playing himself, he’s playing God! God himself lands in the room superhero style, his face obscured by a bright light. He’s massive, about the same size as Satan, and sporting some sandals and a toga. He orders Charlie to jump onto his hand, and once he does the two fly out of Hell. Along the way, God tells Charlie that he passed his test. By confronting the evil Satan and restoring his smile he’s confronted the unhappiness in himself. God finishes up the explanation by saying he hopes he learned something from this “cool” experience and wishes him a “Merry Christmas” as he whips Charlie like a fastball at the Earth from way up in outer space.

Charlie goes streaking towards Earth looking like the force of the throw will peel the skin from his skull, or whatever is under there. On Earth, Charlie’s friends are gathered for his funeral. They’re at the cemetery plot where a priest (Hans Van Harken) is delivering the eulogy for Charlie. Mr. Boss has chosen to say a few words via a free verse rap of some kind. The priest thanks Mr. Boss when he’s done, and then gives the signal that the casket is to be lowered. As it does, Charlie seemingly returns by smashing into it and exploding into yellow goo which covers all of the people in attendance and leaves the casket smashed. The goo shivers for a second before it all comes together and Charlie is reborn!

Pim and the others can hardly believe what just happened as a naked Charlie stands before them. Mr. Boss gets to declare it a Christmas miracle as Pim excitedly asks what happened? Charlie says a lot took place, and that he doesn’t want to get into it. He at least adds that he met Satan and apologizes for how he was acting. Pim apologizes too for their argument earlier and gives Charlie a big hug, who is very much uncomfortable with Pim hugging him in his present state. We then see a book close and find out an elder Glep had been telling this story the whole time to his grandson. The little Glep excitedly asks if all of that stuff really happend. Very casually, the grandpa confirms it and says it’s all real, including Christian Hell before adding “Sorry” as his grandson looks upset. He then cheerfully waves at the camera and says “Merry Christmas, everyone!”

That was a very different sort of Christmas special, but one that I consider pretty entertaining in its own way. I’m assuming it was a lot of fun to see Pim and Charlie’s two very contrasting personalities come to a head as they did in the first act, and then it’s always fun to take a tour of Hell. Getting Satan out of a state of depression feels like an escalation of the problems the group encountered all season. It’s almost surprising to see them go to such an extreme in just the eighth episode. What could be a greater task than that? And on Christmas, no less!

As is often the case with these more offbeat Adult Swim shows, the Christmas element isn’t a huge player. It’s there to help get this one off the ground, and then it mostly fades into the background. Satan and God wishing others a “Merry Christmas” both serve as jokes because they jolt the viewer’s brain back into Christmas mode. These episodes are rather perfectly placed on a broadcast schedule often airing around midnight after one has indulged in a full course of more traditional holiday fair. This is the kind of thing you turn to when that’s getting just a bit too much.

Smiling Friends is a show that’s simply animated, but this episode has a lot of flourish to it on account of the setting. The various areas Charlie finds himself traversing through in Hell are pretty interesting. The shot of Charlie walking over the frozen river while a massive beast swims beneath him is not the sort of thing this show needed to do, but I was happy for it. The approach to Satan was certainly interesting as he was done with a more traditional CG approach. He looks plenty demonic, and I’m not sure what the thought process was that resulted in the approach, but it was fine. It felt rather appropriate that a being such as Satan was depicted in an almost different medium from a mortal like Charlie or Satan’s various underlings. I’m just surprised that God didn’t get a similar treatment. The inclusion of Charlie’s grandmother was a bit of dark humor, and I liked the small arc with Steve. I’m surprised we didn’t hear from the little imp character again, but we didn’t really need to.

I don’t know if Charlie actually learned anything in the end, or if we’re supposed to expect a change in his behavior going forward. A second season is on the way, so I guess we’ll have to wait until then. Since this show isn’t even a year old, Cartoon Network is likely to show this episode during the Adult Swim block at least a few times this month making this one of the easier specials to view. If you still have cable, that is. If not, it’s on the Max streaming platform and available for purchase as well. Smiling Friends is a show that I should watch more of, and while this episode isn’t a classic, at least the show seems pretty good.