On the morning of Thanksgiving 2024, the social media accounts for Adult Swim announced that an “Official Glep Plushie,” named after the wizard hat-wearing lil green guy on animated series Smiling Friends, would be available on Amazon the next day at 1 p.m. I followed the link on Black Friday at 1:05 p.m., by which point the plushie was sold out. Gone Girl? More like Gone Glep.
I bring this up for two reasons: 1) someone send me a Glep plush (pretty please), and 2) to point out that Smiling Friends is extremely popular. It’s also one of the best shows of 2024. But when can we expect new episodes?
Here’s everything we know about Smiling Friends season 3.
Plot
Smiling Friends follows the employees of a charitable company that is tasked with bringing joy to its clients by any means necessary. There’s pessimistic Charlie, cheerful Pim, deadpan Allan, cutie Glep, and their boss, Mr. Boss.
The show’s bosses, creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack, haven’t said much about season 3, other than telling ScreenRant that they have a Google Doc of ideas that they’ve been “adding to for years.” One idea that won’t make it into the show: Pim’s soldier brother coming back from Afghanistan.
Hadel and Cusack also assuaged the fears of fans who are worried the show might suddenly get serious. “A lot of comedy shows, like you say, tend to get serious. I don’t think Charlie and Pim could cry and anybody would care. It would just be annoying. So it would probably end before it gets to that point,” Hadel shared at the Annecy Animation Festival in June. “This show is hopefully kind of an escape. We always think about when we worked minimum-wage jobs, we would get home and just want to watch YouTube cartoons and South Park and Always Sunny. There’s something nice about being a little comedy thing, and that’s it.” Cusack added that they want to keep “a continuous tone with Smiling Friends, where you can tune in in any season.”
For more Smiling Friends goodies, check out the original character designs.
Cast
Much like South Park, most of the main characters on Smiling Friends are voiced by the show’s co-creators: Michael Cusack (Pim, Allan, Mr. Frog) and Zach Hadel (Charlie, Glep, Gwimbly). There’s also Marc M. as The Boss, while guest stars have included Stranger Things breakout Finn Wolfhard, the late Gilbert Gottfried, Erica Lindbeck, Dana Snyder (Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force), and Doug Walker (also known as Nostalgia Critic).
Release Date
It was confirmed in June that Smiling Friends was renewed for season 3. “These guys are already working on the next season of Smiling Friends,” Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen said about Hadel and Cusack. A premiere date has not been announced yet, but unless there’s an unexpected The Venture Bros.-style hiatus, you can hopefully expect season 3 in 2025.
Trailer
There’s no season 3 trailer yet, so instead, please enjoy Glep’s best moments.
