''Common Side Effects'' is an American

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

television series created by Joseph Bennett and

Steve Hely Steve Hely is an American writer who is the co-creator of Common Side Effects, premiering on Adult Swim in February 2025. Hely has written for the television shows ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (receiving an Emmy nomination for Outstanding ...

for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

block with availability on

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

. The

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

premiered privately at the

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

in June 2024, and publicly a month later at Adult Swim's

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

panel in July 2024. The series premiered on Adult Swim on February 2, 2025, to critical acclaim. The series has an encore broadcast on the network's

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

programming block that began on March 2, 2025. On March 28, 2025, it was announced the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

Two high school friends, Marshall and Frances, reconnect after Marshall discovers the Blue Angel Mushroom, a mushroom with healing effects that appears to cure all illnesses. In the process, they also uncover a conspiracy involving Reutical Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, and the government, to suppress all knowledge of said mushroom.

Characters

Main

* Marshall Cuso (voiced by Dave King) is the knowledgeable, cautious

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series and was friends with Frances in high school. He is an accomplished expert in fungi who has done charity work in foreign countries and is sly in run-ins with the DEA. * Frances Applewhite (voiced by Emily Pendergast) is Rick's executive assistant and Marshall's high school lab mate and friend. Though initially hesitant about the effects of the Blue Angel, she eventually sees the monetary value in the mushrooms and is motivated to try and get them to Rick to take care of her mother, who was recently diagnosed with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. * Agents Copano (voiced by Joseph Lee Anderson) and Harrington (voiced by Martha Kelly) are nonchalant best friends who work for the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

. Kelly describes Harrington as "goofy but is very pragmatic about erjob.", while Anderson describes Copano as someone who is "big on

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

" and who likes to "connect dots when they probably should not be connected." * Rick Kruger (voiced by

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

) is the incompetent

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Reutical, who constantly bothers Frances to do mundane tasks for him, such as booking reservations and changing the TV channel. He also enjoys farming simulator video games, often playing in improper settings such as work and formal events.

Recurring

*Nick (voiced by

Ben Feldman Benjamin Feldman (born May 27, 1980) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has undertaken roles on stage, including the Broadway play ''The Graduate'', along with more prominent roles in television series such as his role as Jonah S ...

) is Frances' lackadaisical, often oblivious boyfriend who loves VR gaming. Feldman also provides additional voices. *Jonas Backstein (voiced by

Danny Huston Daniel Sallis Huston (born May 14, 1962) is an American-British actor, director and screenwriter. A member of the Huston family of filmmakers, he is the son of director John Huston and half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston. He is known for ...

) is a powerful Swiss financier and board member of Reutical with heavy insider ties to the federal government who is focused on destroying Marshall and the mushrooms. *Cecily (voiced by Sydney Poitier) is a Deputy National Security Director with influence over the DEA who secretly conspires with Jonas and Reutical. *Hildy (voiced by

Sue Rose Susan Rose (born July 2, 1954) is an American cartoonist, animator, voice actress and television script writer. She is known for co-creating the character Fido Dido with Joanna Ferrone. She is also known for creating the children's television pr ...

) is Marshall's idiosyncratic,

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

mentor who seeks to possess the Blue Angel for her own ends. *Sonia Applewhite (voiced by

Lin Shaye Lin Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American actress. In a career spanning over fifty years, Shaye has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions, which inc ...

) is Frances' mother who has been diagnosed with dementia, and is Frances' main motivation for acquiring the Blue Angel mushroom. *Amelia (voiced by

Shannon Woodward Shannon Marie Woodward is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sabrina Collins on the Fox sitcom '' Raising Hope'' (2010–2014), Elsie Hughes on the HBO science-fiction thriller series ''Westworld'' (2016–2018), and the ...

) is the laid-back mycologist hired by the DEA to gather information on the Blue Angel, also acting as a

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

and caretaker to her ill son, Wyatt. Woodward also provides additional voices. *Kiki (voiced by

Christine Ko Christine Ko (born ) is an American actress, known for her roles as Emma on the CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'', Mandi on ''Upload'' and Emma on ''Dave''. Before her success in America, she had a brief career in Taiwan in the early 2010s. ...

) is a researcher at Reutical. Young and knowledgeable on medicine and the pharmaceutical system, she acts as the

devil's advocate The (Latin for Devil's advocate) is a former official position within the Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith: one who "argued against the canonization (sainthood) of a candidate to uncover any character flaws or misrepresentation of th ...

for the company, disputing the arguments brought up by people such as Marshall. *Zane (voiced by Alan Resnick) is Marshall's veterinarian half-brother specializing in marine animals. He enjoys taking psychedelic drugs and illegally imports rare tropical animals. *Kenji is Copano and Harrington's boss at the DEA. *Jimmer Jarvis (voiced by Mike Judge) is the Sheriff of Averesboro, North Carolina who becomes Marshall's next-door neighbor and ally. *Rusty (voiced by

) is Jimmer’s redneck nephew who spends most of his time shooting guns or riding his BMX bike.

Additional / Guest voices

* Shalita Grant as Female DEA Agent / Susan / Kelly * Bob Stephenson as Connor / Samurai *

Timothy Simons Timothy Simons (born June 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jonah Ryan on the HBO television series ''Veep'' (2012–2019) and the Netflix series '' Nobody Wants This'' (2024–present). Early life and ...

as DEA Dispatcher / Lawyer / Test Subject 3 *

Andy Daly Andrew Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series ''Review'', and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series '' Eastbound & Down'' as Terrence Cutler. He has also ...

as Mysterious Passenger / Christopher *

Nicolas Cantu Nicolas Cantu (born September 8, 2003), known by his internet pseudonyms Junky Janker and TheCAN2Network, is an American actor, internet personality, video producer, and former animator. Cantu is best known for being the third voice of Gumbal ...

as Tommy

Episodes

Production

Development

''Common Side Effects'' co-creators Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely were brought together and began development of the series in 2019 under production studio Bandera Entertainment founded by

and

Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...

. Bennett and Hely sought to combine the crime thriller genre with comedy, inspired by the films of the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

, such as ''

Burn After Reading ''Burn After Reading'' is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitted ...

''. Inspiration for the story came from the co-creators' interest in medicine and the work of mycologist

Paul Stamets Paul Edward Stamets (born July 17, 1955) is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation. Early and personal life Stame ...

, ethnobotanists Richard Evan Schultes,

Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946–April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, ...

and Wade Davis, and the chemist

Albert Hofmann Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann's team also isolated, named and synthesi ...

. The character Marshall was in part inspired by Stamets and "The Orchid Thief" John Laroche as he was portrayed in the film ''

Adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

''. Another inspiration was the story of R. Gordon Wasson publishing an article about Psilocybin mushroooms and María Sabina in ''Life'' magazine and the dramatic consequences for the life of Maria Sabina once the article was published.

Animation

Animation for the series was produced by Green Street Pictures employing an international team of artists, including some working remotely from France, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico. Many of these artists worked on ''

Scavengers Reign ''Scavengers Reign'' is an American science fiction adult animated television series created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner for the streaming service Max, based on their 2016 short film ''Scavengers''. Max announced the series in June 20 ...

'', a 2023 series also produced by Green Street and co-created by Bennett. Animation was produced in conjunction with Le Cube, a partner studio in Argentina.

Release

The series was first announced in June 2023, at the

. The pilot episode premiered privately at the festival event the following year.

Reception

The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.7/10, based on 26 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "An addictive mix of expressive animation, heady concepts, and an offbeat sense of humor, ''Common Side Effects'' is a must-have prescription."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "Generally Favorable" reviews.

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{Adult Swim original programming Adult Swim original programming 2020s American adult animated television series 2020s American animated comedy television series 2020s American sitcoms 2020s American surreal comedy television series 2025 American television series debuts American animated sitcoms American adult animated comedy television series Adult Swim animated television series American English-language television shows American adult animated drama television series Television series by Williams Street Television series about conspiracy theories Television shows about drugs