[Review] Common Side Effects (2024) | Animated Series Review

[Review] Common Side Effects (2024) | Animated Series Review | Adult Swim | Mushrooms

Common Side Effects (2024) is an American adult animated series created by Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely, with Mike Judge (Beevis & Butt-head, Silicon Valley) and Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks & Recreation) serving as executive producers.

Starring Dave King, Emily Pendergast, Mike Judge, Martha Kelly, and Joseph Lee Anderson, the series follows a lone mycology specialist who discovers a blue mushroom that can cure all illnesses, no matter how fatal.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Common Side Effects (2024) Synopsis:

Follows former high school lab mates Marshall and Frances as they unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the government to suppress knowledge of a rare fungus secret that may contain the solution to cure all world’s diseases.

Common Side Effects (2024) Review:

I discovered Common Side Effects (2024) because of a random reel on my Instagram feed. Finding out that this was co-created by Joseph Bennett, one of the minds behind Scavenger’s Reign, I just had to dive in. To my surprise, the showrunners had more than just one masterpiece under their belts. With the talents behind The Office, Beevis & Butthead, and more involved in the making of this show, I thought to myself: why is no one talking about this show?

The visuals have the absurd proportions reminiscent of Beevis & Butthead, with the trippy scenes—including the little white men—calling back to Scavenger’s Reign. The plot itself keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Marshall Cuso and the Blue Angel Mushroom

Humans underneath it all

As much as the show explores a near-fantastical premise, what makes it stand out are its quirky characters and unique art style. From Marshall’s want to do the right thing, to Frances’ wavering loyalties, even Copano and Harrington’s not-perfect investigation, each character brings something unique to the table. While they don’t always feel all that real, the motivations and emotions fuelling them do. This is especially true for Frances, whose moral dilemma I found the most compelling of the lot. After all, the stakes are highest for her, from a personal and professional point. Side note: I hated the Marshall-Frances romance. It felt very forced and didn’t make sense to me.

Throughout the season, we encounter people suffering from some or the other ailment or injury. As magical as the mushroom is, the problems it resolves are very serious. From fatal injuries to cognitive and neurological conditions, we get a glimpse of the turmoil they cause to real lives of victims as well as their loved ones. It’s in these sections that the show really shines. In fact, the focus on these troubles pushes viewers to think of the unjust system that focuses on profit over delivering life-saving solutions to people in need.

Frances in her office

Big Pharma vs Magic Mushrooms

The show literally opens at a pharmaceutical company’s event, where our protagonist, Marshall Cuso (voiced by Dave King), asks a pertinent question about illegal waste dump and the ecological damage it causes. From there, the show doesn’t waste any time in establishing its core premise.

While the overall Big Pharma plot is derived from the hordes of conspiracy theories about how major pharmaceutical companies are holding back the release of vital medicines and cures, the ‘conspiracy’ feels very surface-level. On the other hand, the world of illegal drugs and alternative medicine, led by strong anti-establishment sentiments, feels almost real. This dissonance in world-building sort of took me out of the series. If the pharma sections were developed beyond the ‘money-hungry elite’ trope, the show would have been much more compelling.

What I found interesting was how Marshall insists on testing the mushroom once they figure out how to grow the Blue Angel Mushroom. While the show started off as an illegal solution to a very pertinent problem, Marshall doesn’t blindly begin distributing it, instead focusing on the fact that it is an untested drug. Plus, every survivor begins to hallucinate, seeing those tiny white men, suggesting that the side effects might be more sinister than originally thought.

However, the show introduces this angle a little too abruptly in the last two episodes.

Common Side Effects (2024) Ending Explained

Jonas, the Swiss businessman who was seen ailing throughout the last two episodes, makes it to the farm and eats an ungodly number of mushrooms. This leaves him in a comatose state, constantly dealing with nightmarish hallucinations.

The FBI raids Hildy’s mushroom farm thanks to a lead from Harrington. Meanwhile, Copano—who’s had a change of heart—has come to the farm to investigate the conspiracy. He discovers Marshall’s mangled body and resurrects him with the mushroom, only to return to a farm under attack. In the scuffle, everyone disperses. Copano is shot, and Rusty is killed. Hildy and her gang escape with some mushrooms, while Marshall drives away with Socrates.

During this whole ordeal, Marshall and Frances realise they can telepathically communicate thanks to the mushroom’s side effects, prompting Frances to abandon her pursuit of a new medicine brand. She ends her partnership with Rick and goes out in search of Marshall. Harrington meets Copano in the ICU ward and resurrects him with a blue angel. Rick, without Frances’ expertise, decides to switch their product to a simple spray-on food additive.

Frances and Marshall reunite, deciding to work on growing the blue angel mushroom. Zane, Marshall’s half-brother, pays for a shipment of Peruvian Tortoises, probably to grow his own batch of blue angel mushrooms. Meanwhile, Hildy pours a blue angel derived tincture into a town’s water tower.

With many questions still unanswered, it’s good that Season 2 will be coming. We just don’t know when.

Marshall and Frances tripping after eating the blue angel mushroom

Common Side Effects (2024) Worth Watching?

Yes. I really enjoyed this show. In fact, I read that Adult Swim has renewed the show for season 2 just as I finished watching the finale, and I couldn’t wait for it to be out.

Admittedly, there are a few issues in this series that stop it from being a perfect masterpiece. Regardless, it is a visually stunning, entertaining, and captivating watch. My biggest complaint with the show was how the season ended so abruptly, leaving the story incomplete. If you’ve read my earlier reviews, you know that I hate cliffhangers. While this isn’t really a cliffhanger, the incomplete nature of the ending was just as frustrating. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the ‘telepathic connection’ reveal in the finale, but that’s something I can look past. After all, this is a show with a real magical mushroom. Telepathy isn’t too far off in such a realm.

In Conclusion:

Common Side Effects (2024) is a beautifully absurd animated show with stunning visuals and a captivating plot. Definitely give this one a shot. It is a brilliant watch, albeit with some serious flaws.

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