# Common Side Effects (2025)

> Two former high school lab partners uncover a government and pharmaceutical cover-up around a mushroom that could cure every disease.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/146998

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 11
- Episode runtime: 23 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: animation, comedy, science fiction
- Created by: Joseph Bennett, Steve Hely
- Network: Adult Swim
- Cast: Dave King, Emily Pendergast, Mike Judge, Martha Kelly, Joseph Lee Anderson, Alan Resnick, Lin Shaye, Shalita Grant
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28093628/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: irreverent, paranoid, sardonic, hopeful, breezy

## What critics say

Audience reception is acclaimed, praising the sharp satirical animated comedy-thriller about a pharmaceutical conspiracy.

## Synopsis

Common Side Effects (2025-present) is an American adult animated dark comedy series created by Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely for Adult Swim. Former high school lab partners Marshall (voiced by Dave King) and Frances (voiced by Emily Pendergast) reunite as adults and begin pulling at a thread that leads to a rare mushroom said to hold the key to curing the world's diseases. Their goal is simple to state and dangerous to pursue: expose the big pharma and federal government machinery that wants that knowledge buried. What stands in their way is a steady stream of federal agents, most notably Agent Harrington (Martha Kelly) and Agent Copano (Joseph Lee Anderson), along with a DEA agent and a pharmaceutical executive played by Mike Judge. Each episode turns an absurd lead into a chase, a cover-up, or a clumsy escalation, all tracked across a single continuous season of eleven episodes. The tone is earnest and sardonic at once, with bleak corporate satire undercut by irreverent banter and a hopeful core. Its look is brisk and cartoonish, with a sharp satirical edge. Fans of Rick and Morty, Archer and Mr. Robot will find resonance in its paranoid, comic take on power and secrets.

## Shows like Common Side Effects

- [Close Enough (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/71954)
- [Sealab 2021 (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/310)
- [Maniac (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/63881)
- [Tenacious D: Post-Apocalypto (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/1105121)
- [The Lone Gunmen (2001)](https://ember.film/tv/5405)
- [Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/233)
- [Carol & the End of the World (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/154993)
- [Lazarus (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/148803)
- [The Chair Company (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/178341)
- [The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/125803)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt