User reviews

This series strikes just the right nerve with me. It portrays two people with an all cure drug fighting against Big Pharma, which in the precise moment this was released it is extremely topical and warranted.

The animation is alright, but it really spikes up during psychadelic scenes, in some ways reminescent of Scavengers Reign. The character designs are a bit of a mixed feeling: most characters have rather large heads that make them look like adult babies. Ah well.

The humor is usually pretty subdued, which is great as it allows for comedic moments to hit harder. The characters are just the right mixture of likeable and self-centered.

A strong recommendation.

Common Side Effects feels like the next great high-concept adult animation. The first two episodes blend dark humor, sharp social commentary, and surreal visuals in a way that's thought-provoking and inspiring. The story hits on corporate greed, the pharma industry, and human curiosity-but does so in a way that's weird and unpredictable. The writing is clever, the animation is unique, and the voice acting is spot-on. It's the kind of show that sticks with you after watching, leaving you excited for what's next. If the rest of the season keeps this pace, it'll be one of Adult Swim's GOAT shows for sure.

It's baffling how this animated series hasn't received the attention it truly deserves. With its unique storytelling, stunning animation, and well-developed characters, it stands out in an industry saturated with formulaic content.

The world-building is immersive, pulling viewers into a universe that feels alive and thoughtfully crafted. Each episode balances emotion, action, and humor seamlessly, keeping you invested from start to finish. Unlike many mainstream shows, this one takes creative risks, offering a refreshing break from the predictable tropes we've come to expect.

The voice acting is top-notch, perfectly bringing each character to life. The animation quality is exceptional, with every frame showcasing a level of detail and artistry that reflects the passion behind the project. The writing is intelligent and layered, rewarding attentive viewers with clever nuances and deeper themes.

It's a shame that this series hasn't reached a wider audience yet, but hopefully, more people will discover it in time. If you're looking for something truly special, give this a watch-you won't regret it.

Every aspect of this show is top-notch. The presentation, cinematography, animation, music, acting, dialogue, and story are all simply amazing. The story has just the right amount of sci-fi elements while still being grounded and believable.

If a mushroom like the one in the show existed in real life, I can definitely see some shady things going down by big pharma and the insurance companies to prevent it from reaching the public. This aspect of the show's storyline is very believable, and it's a scary aspect of modern civilization. I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

This show will definitely go down in the history books as a cult classic!

Had no idea about this show so went in totally blind. Seeing Mike Judge attached as the producer gave me high hopes and it does not disappoint. The animation style is really different and took a couple episodes to get used to but I love it now and it suits the tone of the show perfectly. The voice acting is great and the storyline of a guy being hunted down by big pharma for finding a cure all mushroom in the wild is refreshing and not something that has ever been done, especially when it comes to animation. I really hope that Adult Swim continues with this series and stick with the same writers etc. Because they really got a good one here. I give season 1 a solid 10/10 me and my partner both love it, it's really entertaining and the 22-25 minute episode run-times are perfect. Give it a watch, I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoy mature animation. It's also pretty funny at times and the intro is awesome.

This serie only gets better and better after every episode!! Really excited to see what will happen next. For mi it could be the best adult swim serie in the year. The pacing, soundtrack, the characters... Everything is just perfect. I love the originality of this show man. And the animation is just beautifull. Every scene has a lot of detail and you can see the effort that has put into this show. I love how the characters are made and how after every plot, at the next moment they surprise you with another plot twist. It's just one of my favorite adult swim series and its just starting. Very excited to see what is coming next.

It is very good, the animation seems to drop to some really low frame rates, but if you're used to animation/anime then there is nothing to say about that. The art style is just that, like Matt groening /Seth mcfarlane unique. Exposition is pushed in a very natural way, for example we learn about Cusco when the DEA/Francis are researching Cusco. The CEO Rick is voice by Mike Judge (beavis and butthead, Idiocarcy) is always playing a game on his phone never looking at anyone, The DEA duo obviously has a lesbian and I have only seen 2 episodes. I will change my review if they turn into a game of thrones/walking dead because a series is a whole not a collection of episodes you like.

Just when I thought scavenger's reign was one of the best animated shows I've seen this gem comes along and puts me on a new road of awesomeness, I'm truly excited to have experienced this show unexpectedly..I don't know what yo say I loved every single episode like I was a kid Infront of TV diving into his favourite cartoon show.yes..this show actually made me feel that, and for that I'm giving it a solid 8 score, I just humbly hope the creators continue to be respectful towards the plot as well as every viewer who loved watching it, no need to rush anything keep it going as it is and develop characters and branch out to new stories that are interesting and suspenseful like previous episodes. I've been fan from the begining and I hope to continue on that path..best of luck to the team behind this wonderful show and thank you.

This show is outstanding. The fact that an adult swim animated series is this well written and executed is fairly surprising, The last show they had that was at this level was The Venture Bros, and this show leans significantly further towards the drama side of the aisle. It's highly impressive how good the storytelling and serialization for a late night animated series. The animation style is offbeat yet visually appealing. The voice acting is top notch and well suited for each character in the series. I cannot wait for new episodes, and I'm fairly confident in their ability to wrap up the season. Go watch this now!!

I'd give it an 11/10 if I could! Common Side Effects is an incredible mix of drama, comedy, and action, and it completely exceeded my expectations. I even made an HBO Max account just to watch it! I saw the first episode on YouTube and was instantly hooked-the writing, art style, acting, and storytelling are all top-tier. The characters feel real, the humor is sharp, and the action keeps you engaged. We need more shows like this, and I really hope it gets a second season. If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing out! Adult swim really hit a home run with this one. I genuinely am praying it gets a season 2.

I think this show starts off pretty strong but kinda falls off as it goes. I love the animation and vibe of the show. The paranoia level is pretty awesome for the first couple episodes and it mixed with the humor well. But it just kinda dropped off for me starting in the 3rd episode with the characters. The story moved in awkward ways and I just started the lose interest. It just started to feel predictable and the characters went from funny to cliche and way too familiar. It just felt like stuff I'd seen before I guess. Like I said it isn't all bad and there's still stuff I like as it keeps going, but it's not really funny after the first couple and it's not really interesting after the first few.

Every single time the main character, who happens to be an overweight, half-naked, neck-beard-having, trash hippie with a giant turtle, is put into a situation in which he is about to get captured, the camera cuts away and all of a sudden dude has escaped and nobody sees him. At one point he was on a train with no exit and the feds were approaching him, and all of a sudden he just disappeared and escaped with no problem. This is absolutely horrible lazy writing. If the guy knows magic and can teleport any time he is in a tough situation where he is about to be captured, then what reason do we have to have a vested interest in his safety? What about when he was upside down in a wrecked car with a pipe stuck in his stomach, and two seconds later he is running down the street with no problem and nobody saw how he escaped! How is this overweight guy dressed in a Hawaiian shirt carrying a giant turtle seriously able to allude everyone??

I see a lot of reviews talking about the content of this show and while yes I love the writing and the story, I want to take a second to appreciate the animation. I'm a huge fan of very polished and clean animation but in storytelling I think that a more "unfinished" look causes you to care more about the story. Much like 'Carol & The End Of The World' the unique animation in this show makes you pay less attention to the characters and more attention to the story. This animation style is gorgeous when it wants to be and rather crude in most of the hard hitting dialogue heavy scenes. I'm obsessed with the way the animators draw you into small details in backgrounds somehow always introducing more thought provocation through minimalist artistry. Overall I gave the show a 10/10 for the animation simply because of that shifting animation effect. - imkingb.

Okay, okay, okayyyy.

Are you looking for something different, something fun, something special, something akwaaaaarddd at the same time ?? This is the one, the "chosen" one!

This show is like Soda with some crazy taste with it, which is waaaayyy more carbonated that it should be. You drink it and it hits your nose, you feel funny, taste is amazing and yet leaves you questioning why did you drink it.

Characters - 10/10 ! Interesting - yes ; fun - yes ; Humane - yes!

Animation - 10/10 - just great!

Music - 10/10 - A M A Z I N G ! Trust me on that one. The scene with detectives, just pure art!

Story - 10/10 Craaazyy! It makes fun of so much things that we humans struggle with yet it makes some valid points that we "human race" need to work out.

Watch in, Enjoy it and thank me later!

P. S - Some Scavengers Reign vibes here as well.

Common Side Effects is nothing short of a revelation, a psychedelic gut-punch that cements Adult Swim's reputation as a playground for bold, boundary-pushing storytelling. This isn't just a show-it's a manifesto, a hallucinatory middle finger to Big Pharma wrapped in the most inventive animated package I've seen in years. Created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, with Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as executive producers, the series follows Marshall and Frances, two unlikely heroes who unearth the "Blue Angel" mushroom-a fungal miracle cure that sends them tumbling down a rabbit hole of corporate conspiracies, government goons, and existential weirdness. What unfolds is a narrative so tightly woven, so audaciously funny and poignant, that it demands to be called a masterpiece.

The animation alone is worth the price of admission: a warped, dreamlike aesthetic with distorted proportions and a color palette that feels like it's melting off the screen. Every frame drips with intention, amplifying the story's surreal stakes-especially in the mind-bending sequences where the mushrooms' effects take hold. Dave King and Emily Pendergast are phenomenal as Marshall and Frances, delivering performances that balance raw vulnerability with biting humor. Marshall's paranoid brilliance and Frances's conflicted pragmatism anchor the chaos, while the ensemble-particularly the hilariously inept DEA agents Copano and Harrington-adds layers of absurdity that somehow feel painfully real.

Where Common Side Effects truly shines is in its fearless writing. It skewers the healthcare industry with razor-sharp precision, exposing the absurdity of a system that prioritizes profit over people-executives debating "acceptable" side effects while patients suffer is both laugh-out-loud funny and chillingly accurate. Yet the show never feels heavy-handed; it trusts its audience to connect the dots. The humor is relentless, the drama earned, and the weekly pacing gives each twist room to breathe, building to revelations that hit like a freight train. It's a rare series that can make you cackle one minute and sit in stunned silence the next.

This isn't Rick and Morty, nor does it try to be. Common Side Effects is a singular beast, blending Coen Brothers-esque absurdity with X-Files paranoia and a dash of countercultural soul. It's the kind of show that redefines what animation can do, tackling massive ideas with a fearless, unapologetic edge. I can't recommend it enough-it's a perfect 10/10, a trippy, hilarious, and deeply human triumph that'll leave you questioning the world and craving more. Adult Swim has outdone itself; this is one fungus you'll want to catch.

Just finished episode 5. Some might say that it's too early to give the show a 10 star rating, since we're only halfway through, but god damn does this feel monumental.

Seriously on par with some of the absolute best shows ever made. Unless there's a sudden and strong dip in quality I fail to see how this could be anything but an absolute masterpiece.

Every single aspect is perfected! The animation is top notch. The cinematography is well thought-out. The acting is stellar all around and the sound design deserves an entire essay on its own. But if there's one thing I feel isn't talked about enough it's the pacing. Holy hell does this show move graciously. Not a single dull moment, or even frame.

Please, do yourself a favor and watch this the first chance you get.

It seems that a lot of reviewers are commenting on the fact these episodes are 20 mins long. In those 20 mins you see the minutae of human nuances. The animation is specifically engineered to mimic the subtleties of body language, facial expressions, ticks, idiosyncrasies and unique characteristics of every single animation. THAT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DO. You have to be able to draw on personal observational experience and recognise those characteristics in real life to be able to incorporate them into animation and breathe life into it. The animation may look crude at first, but watch and appreciate the story and characters and you will search for what this series has in every animation you ever watch.

From the moment Common Side Effects graces the screen, it is abundantly clear this is no ordinary animated series. A fever dream of unsettling beauty and sharp social commentary, the show immerses its audience in a mind-bending odyssey as visually intoxicating as it is intellectually provocative.

Animation-fluid, striking, meticulously crafted,is a mesmerizing spectacle. Every frame pulses with eerie vibrancy, perfectly complementing the show's surreal yet painfully relevant themes. Cinematography, rarely a standout in animation, is nothing short of cinematic brilliance, with compositions that evoke a sense of unease, wonder, and profound reflection.

Voice acting is exceptional, breathing haunting authenticity into characters navigating a world where pharmaceutical giants wield unfathomable power. Every line is delivered with chilling sincerity, lingering long after the credits roll. And the story...oh, the story! Common Side Effects is not merely entertainment; it is a deep dive into the sinister machinations of Big Pharma, exploring labyrinthine moral complexities within a system designed to profit from human suffering.

Yet, what sets this show apart is its ability to make you think about concepts never even considered. It does not simply ask questions, it demands confrontation, unraveling, and reflection. Few series, animated or otherwise, possess the audacity to challenge perception itself, and Common Side Effects does so with artistry both disorienting and awe-inspiring.

In an era where media often spoon-feeds audiences comfortable narratives, Common Side Effects refuses to coddle. Brilliant, unsettling, utterly unmissable. A true work of art that will leave you questioning everything, right down to the nature of reality itself.

Please for the love of God, the story is awesome but if this show is meant to be a comedy and drama, we need to care for the characters. Slowing down instead of rushing through the plot would be so much better, more episodes could be made, people would connect more and like the show more and overall the quality would be higher. I like to think of this show as kind of like the boys and breaking bad. Those shows had episodes where you got to know the characters and develop connections with them. And moments in this show seem to just skip important interesting parts! I want to see how marshall escapes instead of cutting to him being gone. I want to see him think his way through a situation and be creative! With the amount of characters being introduced, staying at this pacing won't allow for the viewer to get to know them all! And slowing down would allow for more jokes, visual and verbal.

I had high expectations from an animated series because the limitations of productions seen with live action shows would not apply.

The show starts out great with great character development and funny, quirky little personal details. It quickly picks up and we dive into the plot and experience a sharply written, well-voiced series. You then quickly realize, this story did not need more than 5 episodes. The story resolves itself multiple times and quickly develops several conflicts throughout.

The most painfully, dumbed down, lazy writing we see is with the relationship between the protagonist Marshall and Francis. A relationship that develops out of nowhere goes nowhere fast, yet is filled with betrayal and predicated on misplaced trust.

The show resolves none of its plot points and ends in a cliffhanger that doesn't satisfy your curiosity. This show is not worth a watch and is a fast food product of an already bloated streaming platform.

Adult Swim truly outdid themselves with the finale of Common Side Effects. They didn't just raise the bar; they launched it into the stratosphere.

This masterpiece showcases what happens when creators pour their souls into their work without compromise.

The finale weaves together every narrative thread with surgical precision, delivering emotional payoffs that feel both earned and revelatory. Each character's journey reaches its natural conclusion while still leaving you wanting more-a delicate balance few shows achieve.

What elevates this beyond mere entertainment is the symphonic marriage of visuals and sound. The score doesn't simply complement scenes; it transforms them, building tension and release with the expertise of a conductor guiding an orchestra through a complex composition. Certain musical cues will haunt me for weeks.

The attention to detail-from the subtle callbacks to earlier episodes to the meticulously crafted visual metaphors-rewards attentive viewers without alienating casual ones. This is storytelling that respects its audience's intelligence.

In an era of rushed conclusions and unfulfilled promises, "Common Side Effects" delivers a finale that doesn't just satisfy-it transcends. All jokes aside, this is what television can be when creators are given freedom to execute their vision. Essential viewing that will influence the medium for years to come.

I've just finished the finale of season 1 and, wow, what a trip.

The characters, their chemistry and relationships, the animation, the voice acting, the atmosphere, every element is just incredible. I have to mention the animation again because it's just incredible, which you may not expect from the general "style".

I can't think of another show like it. At a time when everything is recycled or rebooted, it's great to see something new and unique executed so well.

I am excited to see where this goes and how the mystery unfolds. I hope it gets all the seasons it needs to tell the full story.