Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542912
30 KEYFRAME T hrill Factor Debuting in 2025, Adult Swim's Common Side Effects uses the vessel of the crime thriller genre to take creative leaps. The story originally started out more "slice of life and meandering," says Co-Creator Steve Hely. But then he and fellow Co-Creator Joe Bennett began referencing TV shows and movies they loved. The Sopranos and Breaking Bad, as well as The Big Lebowski and other Coen brothers' movies. "They have a sort of thriller set-up, but then it's more about characters getting involved in these weird situations," Hely says. Common Side Effects tells the story of Marshall, an amateur mycologist who discovers a mushroom with properties that can heal almost anything. Naturally, a big pharmaceutical company wants to stop him, and so does the DEA. As with Strip Law, "the more we can keep a lot of the world of the show grounded, then the more interesting the fantastical elements like the mushroom really stick out," says Bennett. The series explores real-world issues like frustration with health care, abuses by pharmaceutical companies, the possibilities of natural medicine, and the role of the DEA in controlling drugs. Hely and Bennett spoke with a retired DEA agent and with mycologists. "We cared about being accurate," says Hely, "but mostly because [reality] is usually the most interesting." For example, he explains: "The more you learn about the truth of DEA procedure, it's wilder than anything you could think of." If a new mushroom like the one in the show was discovered, "there's this bizarre, Alice in Wonderland F E AT U R E from top: Marshall discovers the Blue Angel mushroom; Taking the mushroom leads to dream-like sequences; Absurd humor is used to balance serious moments, as when Marshall asks a pet store owner for help with his sick tortoise.