Adult Swim has always been home for some of the more eccentric and, for lack of a better word, adult television shows. Some notable examples include Robot Chicken, the stop motion comedy parody created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, The Boondocks, a satirical animated show based on the Aaron McGruder comic strip of the same name, and Rick and Morty, the animated sitcom about an alcoholic scientist, his timid grandson, and their many adventures.
Adult Swim’s most recent gem, Common Side Effects, is being renewed for a second season. The show is about a scientist, Marshal Cuso, and a mushroom that he discovers can cure all diseases. The show has been nothing short of a massive hit with audiences and critics alike. Throughout the season, Marshal’s priority is finding a way to get the mushroom out to the world in the most humane and conscious way. However, with many forces from the big pharmaceutical company, government officials, and financial moguls, Marshal finds his mission to help the world with holistic medicine quite difficult. A critic from the New York Magazine says, “It contains all of our real-world, as well as our questions, about what we can actually do to improve how normalized our miseries have become.”
With episodes airing on Adult Swim and Max, the show has been doing well. Co-creators Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely said, “We are grateful for the enthusiastic response to Common Side Effects and are thrilled to continue exploring this world with our amazing team and the fans who have embraced the show, the opportunity to push the boundaries of animation and storytelling on Adult Swim is like a wonderful mushroom dream.” Common Side Effects proves that niche, original, authentic storytelling is alive and strong and most of all is what audiences are looking for. “Our goal with the show is to transform planet Earth and restore the human spirit. For now, we will settle for a second season.” If anyone finds this statement to be untrue, just look to the other shows that fall into the same descriptions like The Bear, Paradise, and The Pitt. All of them find themselves in the niche, original, and authentic bracket and find themselves doing well with audiences and critics alike.