Common Side Effects skewers big pharma with deadpan humor and expressive animation

The capitalist oligarchs steering U.S. healthcare have been on everyone’s minds more than usual these past few months—and for reasons which are probably best left only implied—so Common Side Effects feels especially well-timed. Adult Swim’s conspiracy thriller centers on a miracle cure-all drug and a frantic race by the government and pharmaceutical-company sponsors to keep it out of the hands of common folks. In their eyes, a healthy populace with easy access to care is bad for business. 

The surreal and dryly funny animated show comes from the crew at Green Street Pictures, the makers of the sadly short-lived Scavengers Reign, a lushly animated sci-fi series about interplanetary castaways that swung between meditative moments and profound horror. Directors Joe Bennett and Steve Hely (who worked on Veep) have taken a bit of a swerve with Common Side Effects, which applies the surrealism of Scavengers to a mix of paranoia and silly, deadpan humor. This may not have the sense of wonder that Scavengers did, but what it has in its place feels unique in its own way.

Common Side Effects begins with Marshall Cuso (voiced by Dave King), a researcher of fungi with some dubious personal connections and a constantly open shirt. After yelling in protest at the corrupt head of Reutical Pharmaceuticals about their dumping of waste in indigenous lands and natural habitats, he bumps into Francis (Emily Pendergast), an old crush and lab partner from high school. Francis happens to work for Reutical as a long-suffering assistant to the CEO. She hides this from Marshall and so he tells her his secret: He’s found a mushroom, the “Blue Angel,” which can cure everything, from fatal flesh wounds to degenerative diseases of the body and mind. Francis secretly sees a way to save her company and get the recognition from her boss she feels she deserves, Marshall sees an end to that very system, and both end up embroiled in the same conspiracy anyway, as businessmen, gangsters, and feds chase them around trying to secure this special fungus. 

There’s vague traces of the kind of tone you might expect from a show with Mike Judge and Greg Daniels listed as executive producers. But, despite the slightly exaggerated character designs—everyone has really big heads—Common Side Effects also shares Scavengers Reign’s approach to animation. Scavengers stood out because it prioritized intimacy and meditative sequences over flashy action, combining a striking art style with naturalistic movements.

This new show feels in continuity with those interests, with similar precision in its acting and close attention paid to depicting body language. It lends to not just some superb dramatics and great silent storytelling but wonderful, understated moments of physical comedy. The show also feels like a rarity in the landscape of 2D adult animation in the U.S., which often leans into action sequences or big, brash comedic acting. 

There’s no contortion of faces or body proportions going on here (beyond the already exaggerated character designs). And the series is both silly and understated, which feels like an off-kilter approach when the usual tone of voice for animated comedy is to be as loud and broad as possible. In fact, CSE has more in common with something like Burn After Reading Rather than fellow Adult Swim animated comedies such as Rick And Morty. (There’s a governmental briefing in which Marshall is hyperbolically talked about as a drug kingpin, while various middle men skip over details that might make them look bad.)   

Bennett and Hely’s keenness for minor gestures adds a lot of charm to the eccentric cast of Common Side Effects. An early favorite example comes from a clip that went viral late last year of DEA agents Copano (Joseph Lee Anderson) and Harrington (Martha Kelly) shimmying to “Jump In The Line” by Harry Belafonte while on assignment. (This bit immediately followed a scene of their superiors being asked if the two are competent.) In the four of 10 episodes made available to critics, they might be the most enjoyable in the cast, their affable banter and Kelly’s laidback drawl making for an unexpectedly askew combination as the two unwittingly act in the megacorporation’s sinister interests.  

Focus on making these characters feel true to life is crucial to the overall point of Common Side Effects. Even amid the conspiracy between shady corporations and federal agencies, these are not supervillains, just people handed the keys to far too much power. The foremost and funniest example of this is Rick Kruger (played by Mike Judge with an accent that partially recalls Hank Hill). He’s Francis’ boss and the hapless CEO of Reutical who’s described not just as evil but also as a dim bulb, that deadly combination of cluelessness and apathy toward people represented by the recurring gag of him playing a junk mobile game in almost every scene he’s in.  

There’s a sense of the absurd throughout Common Side Effects, in which the stuff that’s real feels just as unhinged as the occasional hallucinogenic trips and freaky cosmic spirituality. An early sequence in the premiere has Rick and Francis sit in an editing suite for an advert for incontinence medicine, repeatedly going over a take until a real and mundane thing feels completely insane as they try and speed up the legally required list of side effects. It’s a show that one might appreciate more technically than as a comedy, but it certainly has its moments. In the end, Common Side Effects is a compelling blend of suspense, spirituality, understated comedy, and just enough mystery dangling on the hook. And in a healthier television landscape, there would be more shows like this one, an original work that feels no pressure to be a loud spectacle.

Common Side Effects premieres February 2 on Adult Swim