It was announced today that Adult Swim has greenlit “Common Side Effects.” The half-hour comedy series delves into the complex reactions to the revelation of the mysterious elixir of life. “Common Side Effects” was created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely and is executive produced by “King of the Hill” creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
“Common Side Effects” follows former high school lab partners Marshall and Frances who begin to unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the federal government to suppress knowledge of a rare mushroom that may hold the key to curing all the world’s diseases.
“Tonally, this is like nothing else in animation right now, so we knew immediately that ‘Common Side Effects‘ belonged on Adult Swim,” said Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. “Mike, Greg, and this entire team have such deep pedigrees in the comedy and animation worlds, and this new series will tackle everything from government corruption to the pharmaceutical industry through their unique and hilarious perspectives.”
“From the moment we heard the idea for ‘Common Side Effects‘ we knew it was the perfect tone for our animation brand,” added Suzanna Makkos, executive vice president, original programming for Adult Swim and Max. “The series is based on a thought-provoking idea that is totally original and brought to life with complicated, larger-than-life characters. We look forward to introducing this special show to the world.”
Listed in Variety’s 2022 list of “10 Animators to Watch,” Bennett will also debut a sci-fi animated series “Scavengers Reign” for Max, and his animated shorts were featured on FXX’s anthology series “Cake.” Hely was a co-executive producer for the HBO series “Veep,” and a producer/writer for “American Dad,” “The Office” and “30 Rock.”
“Common Side Effects” will be produced by Bandera Entertainment with Judge, Daniels and Bandera president Dustin Davis serving as executive producers.
About Bandera Entertainment: Greg Daniels and Mike Judge’s partnership first began on the long-running, critically acclaimed animated show “King of the Hill.” Following that success, they spent the next years working on projects independently, but their shared sensibilities and love of animation led to the foundation of Bandera Entertainment, where the goal is to curate a relevant, diverse slate of animated programming. Currently, Bandera is in production on new episodes of “King of the Hill” which will air on Hulu. With President Dustin Davis, who was most recently Head of Comedy at YouTube Originals after a stint at ABC, their aim is to expand the animation genre into as many modern types of storytelling as live action, guided by an excitement for artists and writers and ideas. Bandera is also in production on Peacock’s first adult animation series “In the Know,” which is a stop-motion comedy created by Mike Judge, Zach Woods, and Brandon Gardner, as well as Freeform’s “Praise Petey,” created by Anna Drezen, with Annie Murphy, Kiersey Clemons, Stephen Root, Christine Baranski, and John Cho lending their vocal talents. Additionally, Bandera is in production on Netflix’s adult comedy “Exploding Kittens,” based off the beloved card game, showcasing the voices of Tom Ellis and Lucy Liu.
Adult Swim is the leader in adult animation and #1 destination for young adults for over fifteen years, offering critically acclaimed, award-winning original and acquired series such as “Rick and Morty,” “Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal,” “The Eric Andre Show,” “SMILING FRIENDS,” “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal” and the upcoming “My Adventures with Superman.” Fan favorite anime block, Toonami, airs on Saturday nights and has expanded beyond acquisitions, producing original series including “Housing Complex C,” “Uzumaki,” and new seasons of “FLCL.” The annual Adult Swim Festival reaches a global audience, and features performances by top musicians and comedians. Adult Swim airs nightly from 7PM to 6AM (ET/PT) on its linear channel and reaches fans via HBO Max. Connect with Adult Swim on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Subscribe to Adult Swim on YouTube.
