Adult Swim has greenlit a new show exec produced by King of the Hill creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The project, which was revealed at Annecy today, is a half-hour comedy that delves into into the complex reactions to the revelation of the mysterious elixir of life. Titled Common Side Effects, the new series was created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely and is executive produced by Judge and Daniels.
Common Side Effects follows former high school lab partners Marshall and Frances who begin to unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the federal government to suppress knowledge of a rare mushroom that may hold the key to curing all the world’s diseases.
“Tonally, this is like nothing else in animation right now, so we knew immediately that Common Side Effects belonged on Adult Swim,” said Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. “Mike, Greg and this entire team have such deep pedigrees in the comedy and animation worlds, and this new series will tackle everything from government corruption to the pharmaceutical industry through their unique and hilarious perspectives.”
“From the moment we heard the idea for Common Side Effects we knew it was the perfect tone for our animation brand,” added Suzanna Makkos, executive vice president, original programming for Adult Swim and Max. “The series is based on a thought-provoking idea that is totally original and brought to life with complicated, larger than life characters. We look forward to introducing this special show to the world.”
Bennett, who created animated shorts for the FXX anthology series Cake, will also bring a new sci-fi animated series called Scavengers Reign to Max. Hely was a co-executive producer for the HBO series Veep and a producer/writer for American Dad, The Office and 30 Rock. Common Side Effects will be produced by Bandera Entertainment with Judge, Daniels and Bandera president Dustin Davis serving as executive producers.
Genndy’s Back for Season 3
It was also announced today that a third season of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal will premiere on Adult Swim. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, and the
winner of five Emmy Awards including “Outstanding Animated Program,” the third season is currently in production with acclaimed creator Genndy Tartakovsky returning to helm the thrilling, action-packed series.
Combining artistry, emotion and pulse-pounding action, the first two seasons of the series followed a caveman at the dawn of evolution as he forms an unlikely friendship with an almost extinct dinosaur. After bonding over unfortunate tragedies, they ostensibly become each other’s only hope of survival until a final standoff becomes fatal. The second season of the show”reached nearly 4 million viewers on Adult Swim last year, ranking as a top 10 animated series on cable in P18-49 and among the top 5 most-watched Adult Swim original series on linear.
“It’s happening!! Primal has become a contagious disease that I don’t ever want to cure. Every episode flows out like an unstoppable force beyond my control. Prepare yourselves ‘Primal’ fans forSeason 3 is coming!!!” said Tartakovsky.
Spoiler Alert: “Most shows would have a hard time continuing after the main character is killed off, but this isn’t most shows. Leave it to Genndy and team to keep us all in suspense as Primal continues its adventure,” added Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim.Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios said: “When
Genndy says he is not finished with Primal, our only job is to do everything possible to support that vision and give him the opportunity to tell more incredible and imaginative stories. I can’t wait to see where he takes us next.”
Celebrated for his expansive body of work on beloved animated series including Dexter’s
Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Sym-Bionic Titan, Tartakovsky’s
newest series Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is currently airing on Adult Swim, next day on Max. Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is created by Tartakovsky with art direction from Scott Wills (Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Samurai Jack ) and music
composition from Tyler Bates (Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Guardians of the Galaxy, Samurai Jack ) and Joanne Higginbottom (Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Samurai Jack), and sound effects design from Joel Valentine ( Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Big City Greens, Samurai Jack). Earlier this week, Tartakovsky revealed new details about his upcoming R-rated Sony Pictures Animation/New Line feature Fixed at Annecy.
