Adult Swim Renews ‘Birdgirl’ and ‘Smiling Friends’

Birdgirl Season 2
Source: Adult Swim
The animated comedy follows the employees of a small company dedicated to bringing happiness to a bizarre yet colorful world. The quarter-hour series is co-created by Michael Cusack (YOLO: Crystal Fantasy) and Zach Hadel (Hellbenders). Animation is by Princess Bento Studio.
The hugely popular series premiered January 9 on Adult Swim, with fans treated to a full run of the entire season that night. The premiere was #1 among all ad-supported cable with T12- 17, P18-24/34, and W18-24/34 during its 12 am-1:45 am time period. The block, excluding sports, also won among M18-34/49 and M25-54. As new episodes continued to air during its regular timeslot over four weeks it saw double and triple-digit improvements in audience delivery of the prior four weeks’ average.
The Birdteam is back and they’re still not learning from their mistakes. Judy Ken Sebben and the Birdteam attempt to navigate the troubles of modern corporations, tackling everything from ethics in new tech, to cancel culture and rejuvenating skin sack health fads. Will they fail? Spectacularly! But sometimes it’s not about the solutions we come up with, it’s about the new problems we make along the way.

Debbie Diamond Sarto is assistant news editor at Animation World Network.
Smiling Friends
Adult Swim has announced renewals for two of its hit animated comedy series: Birdgirl and Smiling Friends. Season 2 of Birdgirl is set to premiere this summer, while the return of Smiling Friends will be announced at a later date. Both series are now available to stream on the Adult Swim hub on HBO Max.

The half-hour 2D animated comedy series stars Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Father), and is executive produced by Erik Richter (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) and Christina Miller. The show is produced by Adult Swim’s Williams Street Productions with animation by Global Mechanic.