Common Side Effects Review: Adult Swim’s Next Big Hit

Common Side Effects has been such an oddity ever since it was first announced to be in the works. The initial reveal of the series noted some of the great television minds behind it bringing it to life, and a look that seemed much different from the other shows already airing on Adult Swim. This, funny enough, made it the perfect show for Adult Swim as the adult animation block has been the home for odd animated projects with a clear voice and story to tell. Common Side Effects is one of the most ambitious in this vein to date, and is aiming to succeed in what it sets out to do.

Common Side Effects is going to be a much different experience than many Adult Swim fans might be used to. It’s quieter, and driven by more subtle moments to bring about its humor. Exploring a full pharmaceutical conspiracy with multiple parties involved and many layers being unraveled with each episode, Common Side Effects is teasing a much larger mystery at play that’s going to draw you in each and every week. It’s the kind of show that’s really going to sneak up on you.

Originally created by Joe Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (Veep, American Dad!), with Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-head) and Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation) as executive producers, it’s immediately clear that Common Side Effects has a wide pool of creative talent behind it. This is evident from the very opening of the series that introduces fans to Marshall Cuso (Dave King), an unassuming genius who is against everything that big pharmaceutical companies are doing to people and the environment. He’s got the one thing that could potentially change the world, however, a mysterious mushroom that can heal the most deadly diseases and patch up the most fatal wounds.

But Marshall’s not the only one who knows about this mushroom as shadowy figures from not only these pharmaceutical companies, but potential rivals, the government, and the Drug Enforcement Administration are now after him. This sparks a major conspiracy as Marshall tries to save the world with his new miracle mushroom. All the while reuniting with one of his friends from high school, Frances Applewhite (Emily Pendergast), who is working for one of the biggest medical companies in the world who wants to find the miracle drug herself. It’s a lot to unpack, and that’s the fun of the series.

Common Side Effects might seem like it’s hitting you with a lot of information to parse through with its premiere, but each episode helps to unfold this little by little. The central mystery has so many moving parts that Marshall is always on edge, and thus it makes it all the more thrilling to watch. Doubly so because Marshall himself is such a fun character at the center of it all. He’s got a very distinct design and personality, and King’s performance just makes you want to root for him as the small fly caught within a much larger web of intrigue.

This is the case for every character in Common Side Effects. Whether they are at the center of the action or only seen for a brief scene, every character seems like they are fully formed and have worlds and lives of their own. So many jokes seem to be smaller throw away lines that pay off in a fun way later. Like the fact that a barista is shouting out for “Geggory’s” coffee order, only for Geggory themselves to appear shortly after. The series is taking care to make sure that outside of the larger mystery that fans will care about the moment to moment scenes for each of the characters.

The two DEA agents at the center of it all, Agents Copano (Joseph Lee Anderson) and Harrington (Martha Kelly), are an example of a great secondary plot. They have been tasked with finding and arresting Marshall, but are not given many details about the reason they are doing so. It’s an order passed on down from above, so they are going to see it through but also start investigating the “why” of their current situation. Frances is the same way as she’s initially introduced as someone who might be using Marshall, but soon has some big changes to her life that lead to her fully supporting him.

On top of all of the intrigue and dialogue driven humor, Common Side Effects is also just a great looking show. Character designs are fun and quirky (and perfectly line up with the personalities that really make an impression), and the world itself is dreary and bleak when it should be. It’s all then perfectly thrown into chaos with the mushrooms themselves as the resulting hallucinogenic sequences clash in just the right way with the grounded world. They don’t feel like traditional drug trips, and even help to move the story forward. It’s where the series is allowed to fully explore the animated realm, and it’s a great result each time.

The first four episodes of Common Side Effects promise a series full of intrigue, personality, and splendidly animated sequences. Adult Swim has really been confident that this series is going to make waves, and it’s easy to see why once you get to see it all in action. Everything just fits together perfectly to provide a much different kind of animated series than fans have seen in a long time.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Common Side Effects premieres on Adult Swim on Sunday, February 2nd at 11:30PM EST.