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Season 1 – Common Side Effects

Play trailer 1:09 Poster for Season 1 – Common Side Effects Feb 2025 Comedy Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Two former high school lab partners stumble on a mushroom that can heal almost anything, apart from the corporate interests of the DEA, big pharma, and international businessmen.
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Common Side Effects — Season 1

Common Side Effects — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

An addictive mix of expressive animation, heady concepts, and an offbeat sense of humor, Common Side Effects is a must-have prescription.

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Critics Reviews

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Alan Sepinwall Rolling Stone Jun 18
The aesthetic is simultaneously off-putting and endearing, as if this is obviously not what people should look like, but in a way that suggests how hard it is for them to navigate this strange and broken world in which we all find ourselves. Go to Full Review
Coleman Spilde Salon.com Apr 7
Creators Joe Bennett and Steve Hely are so adept at hooking viewers that it’s almost frightening. Go to Full Review
Roxana Hadadi New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 31
This animated world may revolve around a fantastical fungus, but it contains all of our real-world frustrations, as well as our questions, about what we can actually do to improve how normalized our miseries have become. Go to Full Review
Bethan Ackerley New Scientist Apr 6
Eventually, the messier elements of Common Side Effects do coalesce pretty much perfectly into a hopeful, humanistic show about making mistakes and how we go about healing. Go to Full Review
Isaiah Colbert io9.com Apr 3
Common Side Effects is abound with lush and vivid background art; surreal, kaleidoscopic, fluid animation; and shocking violence—all working in concert with its suspenseful narrative. Go to Full Review
Chris McCoy Memphis Flyer Mar 27
Don’t let the animation fool you into thinking this show isn’t a serious work of art. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Esra Y Nov 29 Creative, smart, fun absolute must see for any adult animation genre lover. I appreciate that they put time and effort to build each characterand tell a compelling story with 20 min episodes. See more MB C @MB.Cinema Nov 3 An animated sci-fi drama where a botanist discovers a blue fungus that can cure any disease, sparking chaos and corruption....Blending dark comedy, psychological tension, and surreal visuals, the show satirizes greed and the illusion of progress....Its mix of absurd humor and sharp social critique makes it unpredictable and thought provoking....The shifting tone sometimes confuses, but its bold ideas and layered characters keep it gripping....Visually distorted animation and haunting music amplify the unease....A daring, intelligent exploration of morality, madness, and the price of salvation.... See more Renato M Oct 19 Watched the first 3 episodes hoping it would pick up steam but I gave up. Honestly, every show should at least try to hook you from the pilot but I felt like this one didn't even try. I see attempts at comedy, drama and thrills, but it all falls flat. I assume they aimed for subtlety, but they hit boredom. There's no hook. The characters are one-dimensional. The plot seems to be exactly what you expect from the premise but I'm not interested enough to follow through and find out. It honestly feels like they wrote an extremely boring conspiracy show about big pharma and the government as a parody of the premise itself. See more Tom F Sep 8 You can see where this is going, but it’s fun enough to watch play out. A great idea, but it takes a meandering course. See more Mateo O Aug 26 GREAT SHOW! Interesting, exciting, and while it might look goofy and silly, it sucks you in! See more Eric W Aug 8 After I watched it, I immediately rewatched it. It's really something special, something fresh, something new. The premise is deep and profound with so many layers of significance. But it's also light and funny. Great to see great creative work like this at a time I was starting to lose faith in it all. See more Read all reviews
Common Side Effects — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Feb 2, 2025 Pilot Marshall Cuso shows up in NYC with a mushroom, that can cure any disease or injury; his old classmate, Frances, meets him by chance, but keeps secret that she works for Reutical, a pharmaceutical company. Details Episode 2 Aired Feb 2, 2025 Lakeshore Limited Marshall is on the run, trying to flee New York; Frances confides to her boss, Rick, about the mushroom; Rick sends her to Marshall's farm to get more, but the situation gets out of hand. Details Episode 3 Aired Feb 9, 2025 Hildy Marshall seeks advice from his old mentor Hildy; Copano and Harrington are drawn further into the mystery of the mushrooms obtained at the raid; Frances goes to Geneva with her boyfriend Nick and Rick but can't resist the call of the mushroom. Details Episode 4 Aired Feb 16, 2025 Dumpsite Marshall buys a plot of land near a chemical waste site with a plan to grow more mushrooms; Frances rushes home from Europe after a huge development; Copano and Harrington investigate a connection between Marshall and Frances. Details Episode 5 Aired Feb 23, 2025 Star-Tel-Lite Marshall, Frances, and their crazy neighbors deal with the aftermath of a dangerous incident. Details Episode 6 Aired Mar 2, 2025 In the System Marshall arrives in jail and learns that some important people refuse to let him out, while danger lurks around every corner; Frances makes a fateful decision; Copano and Harrington pick up the pieces. Details Episode 7 Aired Mar 9, 2025 Blowfish Another inmate rescues Marshall, but now Marshall owes him a favor; desperate to get out of prison, he works on a risky plan when he runs into a surprising ally; Frances grapples with a life-changing event. Details Episode 8 Aired Mar 16, 2025 Amelia & Wyatt Marshall meets an old friend and forges a new plan; Frances receives terrible news and feels torn by it. Details Episode 9 Aired Mar 23, 2025 Cliff's Edge Marshall finds out what Hildy is up to, but still faces obstacles; Copano and Harrington follow Marshall's trail. Details Episode 10 Aired Mar 30, 2025 Raid Agents from the FBI and the DEA storm the site, with consequences; the fate of the mushroom is decided. Details
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Season Info

Director
Camille Bozec, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Vincent Tsui
Creator
Joseph Bennett, Steve Hely
Executive Producer
Sean Buckelew, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Suzanna Makkos, Mike Judge, Steve Hely, Juan Manuel Freire
Screenwriter
Joseph Bennett, Emma Barrie, Steve Hely, Jon Foor, Jean Kyoung Frazier, Dave King
Network
Adult Swim
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Comedy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date
Feb 2, 2025