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SDCC COVERAGE SPONSORED BY MAD CAVE
Smiling Friends has amassed a large fanbase of like-minded, sometimes chaotic individuals. It comes as no surprise that the show’s San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel, “Adult Swim’s Smiling Friends Season 3 Preview,” was basically a symphony of laughter.
The preview featured the full first episode of the new season, “Silly Samuel,” centered on Charlie and Pim being hired to help a man named Silly Samuel. Moderator Sabina Graves took the stage after the screening, followed by Michael Cusack and Zack Hadel, the voices behind Charlie and Pim.
The second half of the panel was a chaotic Q&A session with no clear path, as Cusack and Hadel leaned into the absurdity and reminded everyone why Smiling Friends exists in the first place. The actors sound exactly like their characters, giving the surreal impression that Charlie and Pim were answering questions themselves.
At one point, Hadel proclaimed, “This is now a cringe YouTube video,” as the two dove deeper into the origins of Silly Samuel and how he looks like “a demented Forky” from Toy Story.
They spoke about actor Connor O’Malley, who voices Silly Samuel. Cusack explained, “We wanted his yell to be—not grating, but give off a sincere angry yell. A guy losing his mind and unraveling, I always find entertaining.”
Hadel added, “I drew the most messed up drawing I could and ran with it.”
The panel ended with the announcement of two upcoming holiday episodes and a teaser for Season 3.
Smiling Friends continues to thrive by leaning into its absurdity, backed by creators who care deeply about making people laugh. If this panel was any indication, Season 3 is ready to go off the rails in the best way possible.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SMILING FRIENDS SEASON 3, EPISODE 1, “SILLY SAMUEL”. DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS.
Samuel has the body of cheese, a spring arm with a crab claw, a gummy hand, long legs, rainbow socks, clown shoes, a blue head with bulging eyes, a horn for a nose, and a cuckoo clock embedded in his skull. His goal? To be taken seriously. As you can imagine, things do not go to plan.
A side plot unfolds with The Boss and Allan scrambling to deal with a surprise building inspection. The Boss, fully aware that the building is held together by a single nail, is less than confident about their chances.
One of the standout lines is from The Boss: “Allen, we are so f*cked. You really thought it was legal to build a giant yellow smiley face?”
With many laws broken, a failed attempt to change the misunderstood, a near murder, and a silly tale at the heart of it all, “Silly Samuel” had the SDCC audience in stitches.
English (US)