Getting addicted, no pun intended, to an animated conspiracy thriller from Adult Swim that skewers Big Pharma is not exactly something I had on bingo card for 2025. But I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised; after all, it feels like a year’s worth of oddball surprises have already unfolded just this month alone.
Adult Swim has always been the go-to for weird, brilliant animation (Rick and Morty, The Venture Bros.), and its latest series, Common Side Effects, is no exception. Created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, with executive producers Mike Judge and Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Office), this new show is a darkly comedic dive into the world of Big Pharma, conspiracy theories, and one very special mushroom from Peru — it’s so special, in fact, that the ‘shroom at the heart of this comedy can cure anything from dementia to maybe even actual death.
“Joe and Steve have created something incredibly original with a series that is thrilling, beautiful and deeply funny,” said Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen. “It’s top-level television that challenges expectations and raises profound questions. It’s a truly special series and unlike anything you’ve ever seen. I’m trying not to be hyperbolic, but it’s true.”
The half-hour Common Side Effects, which debuted on Sunday and already has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes (as of this writing), follows two former high school lab partners — Marshall and Frances. The pair shares a secret; Marshall has actually discovered the world’s greatest medicine, the aforementioned mushroom that can heal basically anything. But as you can imagine, there’s a foreboding health care and medical apparatus aligned against them. Everything and everyone from the DEA to pharmaceutical giants to international businessmen are out to stop them.
Common Side Effects offers up a sharp critique of the US healthcare system, wrapped in a trippy, animated thriller. It’s got biting humor, an unfortunately all-too-relevant story, and a unique animation style. What’s more, fans of Silicon Valley and Beavis and Butt-Head will easily recognize Judge and Daniels’ signature aesthetic: Smart, satirical, and just absurd enough to keep you hooked. In other words, what’s not to like?
“Begging y’all to give this show all the love it deserves,” one commenter raves in the comments section of the YouTube trailer, below. “It’s a gem, obviously made with passion and we need more of this content on TV.”
