The latest production from Cartoon Network’s adult programming block, Adult Swim, “Common Side Effects” presents a 10-episode animated series that prescribes a complex moral dilemma within its fast-paced and suspenseful storyline. The production also features quirky characters and that simple, occasionally trippy animation style that Adult Swim is best known for.
The show was originally created by screenwriters Steve Hely and Joseph Bennet. After initial screenings during San Diego Comic Con, the show officially premiered this past February to critical acclaim. “Common Side Effects” presents a surprisingly gripping story relating to the practices of powerful pharmaceutical companies that also balances unique character dynamics and humor. With the confirmation of a second season, there is no better time than now to catch up.
While traveling in Peru, fungi expert and conspiracy theorist Marshall Cuso finds an extremely rare type of mushroom growing in a valley. Nicknamed the “Blue Angel Mushroom,” it has extraordinary properties when consumed, curing any and all types of ailment, including disease, physical injury and even being on the brink of death.
Soon after reuniting with his high school friend Frances Applewhite, an assistant who works at the Reuitcal Pharmaceuticals company, Cuso, becomes the suspect of the drug enforcement agency, with agent duo Capono and Harrington on his tail. On top of this, the FBI and other government agencies work in tandem with pharmaceutical companies to catch Cuso and suppress all knowledge of the mushroom.
Throughout the series, the show brings up the ethical dilemma of the mushroom and the effects it could have on pharmaceutical companies that choose to withhold cures from people to instead make profits by selling mere treatments. The simple repackaging of illegally-made drugs like methamphetamine, altered in a lab to become adderall, and the many other immoral practices carried out by pharmaceuticals are rightfully called into question throughout the show.
In the early episodes, the focus is on Cuso trying to find ways to effectively grow his mushroom as he constantly evades the law, as well as highlighting side characters who become involved in his cause. It is later revealed in episode nine, however, that the miracle mushroom may have unique side effects of its own, causing people to seep into an extraterrestrial mirror of reality as the individuals begin to see otherworldly creatures. The deeper mystery behind the mushroom is further assisted by the show’s distinctly bizarre but charming animation style, which is very simple in shape but still heavily grounded in reality.
Tying the experience together is its eccentric cast of characters. Cuso is not only a very likeable, thrifty and highly intelligent individual who seeks to do the right thing, but is also seemingly one step ahead of law enforcement at all times. Toward the end of the season, he briefly operates the mushroom business with other shady individuals so that he can give out the cure to as many sick people as possible. Through this process, he briefly evolves into the same pharmaceutical companies he openly despises, albeit with the hindsight that growing enough mushrooms is a long and tumultuous process.
Alongside the protagonist is Applewhite, who finds ways to help Cuso in order to treat her mother who has dementia. Ultimately, she is tied back to her role in Reuitcal alongside her incompetent boss Rick Kruger. The show doesn’t skip out on its peculiar, relatable humor. Kruger is portrayed as someone who believes they are prioritizing the greater good, but is so morbidly out of touch and needy that it becomes weirdly funny to observe. Each character in the show, whether it be the detective duo Capono and Harrington, or Cuso’s old unhinged mentor Hildy, have their own little quirky attributes that make the show entertaining from both a comedic and dramatic storytelling point.
With the conclusion of the first season left on a cliffhanger, there is so much more that the show can touch on going forward by exploring new storylines and characters or further expanding on the mysterious background of blue mushroom. “Common Side Effects” remains another unique little gem from Adult Swim.
