Common Side Effects: Exploring Adult Swim’s Clever Animated Mycology Thriller and the Real Science of Healing Fungi
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
The world of animation often serves as a powerful mirror reflecting timely and complex societal concerns, and the Adult Swim series Common Side Effects is a shining example. This half-hour comedy-drama, which debuted in early 2025, follows the adventures of two former high school friends after one of them discovers a mushroom capable of healing almost anything. Co-created by Joe Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (Veep), and executive produced by industry legends Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, the show immediately sets up a high-stakes "mycology thriller" scenario. The core conflict pits the potential healing powers of natural fungi against the powerful, shady operations of big pharmaceutical companies determined to hush up the discovery of the fantastic fungi.
The fictional premise—a magical, all-healing mushroom—acts as a springboard for examining stark realities about medicine, healthcare, power dynamics, and human damage to the environment. While the series presents a fast-paced thriller plot, its underlying fascination with fungi and the critical role they play has prompted real-world discussions about the science of mycology, conservation efforts, and the unseen networks that support life on Earth.
The Genesis of the Mycology Thriller
The concept for Common Side Effects arose from a shared interest between co-creators Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, who were introduced through Mike Judge and Greg Daniels about five years prior to the show's debut. Bennett and Hely quickly bonded over their aligned sense of humor, favorite movies, and a common interest in mushrooms. They realized they were both actively thinking about psychedelic drugs, big pharma, medicine, and conspiracy theories. This shared fascination led them to build a show around the premise of a medicine that could cure almost anything, prompting them to question who would pursue such a discovery and how it might completely disrupt the world.
Hely notes that they were particularly intrigued by figures like mycologist and entrepreneur Paul Stamets, questioning why alternative medicine—despite the incredible medicinal properties certain types of things can offer—is often viewed as a "weird taboo". This perspective allowed them to craft a show that blends elements of comedy and thriller, resulting in a tone that is quite unusual and doesn't easily fit into a specific genre box, granting them significant creative freedom. The ambitious project was initially sold to Amazon, but after the network passed, Bennett animated a small portion of it, which helped secure the eventual sale to Adult Swim, a network Hely admired for its cool brand.
Cinematic Animation and Critical Themes
The creators aimed for a highly grounded and cinematic presentation, believing that animation was a necessary medium because certain elements of the show would be difficult to execute in live action. The show's visual style was consciously crafted to feel like an expensive live-action production, utilizing techniques like focus blurs to achieve this cinematic look. The animation is produced by Green Street Pictures, the Pasadena-based indie studio co-founded by Bennett, which also produced Scavengers Reign. The studio was born out of the pandemic and was adept at working with a wide range of remote international artists from places like Spain, Portugal, France, and Mexico.
Grounded Cinematics and Remote Production
The remote production team utilized a wide range of 2D-animation tools, including the Adobe suite, Harmony, TVPaint, and Animate. This collaborative, decentralized structure required unsung coordinators and production staff to assemble material from various formats, an effort that Hely noted went surprisingly smoothly. The visual success of the show is also attributed to the art direction of Wes McClain, and the efforts of an amazing colorist and art designer. Creatively, Bennett and Hely aspire to a high standard, with Hely admitting the project is ambitious and aiming for quality comparable to a Coen brothers’ movie.
Beyond the aesthetic goals, the series leverages its narrative to tackle "timely and important issues," primarily criticizing the pharmaceutical industry and the broader healthcare system. The creators explored questions about the constant shifts in what is considered healthy, the complicated nature of traditional medicine, and the resulting "weird traps" people fall into concerning healthcare. They were interested in how powerful billionaires run the system and the corruption inherent in those operations, focusing on people's interactions with both legal and illegal pharmaceuticals.
Fungus vs. Them: Fictional Plot Meets Stark Reality
The central fictional conflict is encapsulated in the New York Times review title, “Review: In ‘Common Side Effects,’ It’s Fungus vs. Them,” which points to the series’ conspiracy framing and the fungal cure narrative. The plot centers on a rogue mushroom researcher who finds an all-healing specimen, prompting powerful entities—including Mike Judge’s character, Rick Kruger, the shady president of a big pharmaceutical company—to try to end its existence. Judge’s involvement was a significant draw, as he is described as a legend in comedy and animation.
The series shows "serious love for botany" and fungi, which one of the creators, Steve Hely, attributes to the simple fact that "The more you learn about them, the more interesting they become,” noting that some mushrooms are delicious, others make you feel crazy, and some will kill you. This fascination grounds the fictional thriller, which ultimately serves as a critique of how power struggles often hinder progress and research, especially when environmental damage is involved.
The Race to Save Invisible Healing Fungi
While Common Side Effects features a magical, all-healing mushroom, the show’s themes resonate with the real-world scientific search for vital, yet often unseen, fungi. Mycology experts are currently scouring the globe to map and protect hidden fungi, particularly the crucial mycorrhizal fungi. These organisms are critically important to global ecosystems; for instance, ninety percent of plants depend on mycorrhizal fungi to thrive.
Mycorrhizal fungi are networks of microscopic filaments surrounding plant roots, enabling plants to access underground nutrients, supporting life above the soil. They can even redistribute nutrients, like phosphorus, to plants in areas with lower-quality soil. Despite their ecological importance in maintaining healthy forests and crops, they are challenging to study because many essential species are invisible to the naked eye. Researchers currently rely on digging up soil cores and analyzing fungal DNA to identify these crucial organisms. Due to rapid ecological change and degradation, mycologists feel "huge pressure" to act quickly to monitor and protect these changing communities. Currently, over 90% of all fungi are estimated to be unknown to science.
Mapping Global Mycorrhizal Diversity
Organizations like the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) are taking the lead in this crucial conservation effort. SPUN’s main objective is to map mycorrhizal diversity globally to understand what species exist and advocate for their protection against threats such as illegal mining and deforestation. According to Dr. Adriana Corrales, a mycologist researching fungi diversity at SPUN, providing an accurate map of mycorrhizal biodiversity will offer the necessary evidence to advocate for protecting the fungi and their environments.
SPUN is working toward the monumental goal of sampling every square kilometer of soil on Earth. This massive undertaking involves supporting a network of researchers through the Underground Explorers Program, which funds almost 100 mycologists across 41 countries. Dr. Corrales highlights the importance of sampling areas in the global south, which have historically been underrepresented in mycology literature. SPUN utilizes machine learning to analyze the DNA sequencing data gathered from hundreds of studies, developing a large digital map that predicts global mycorrhizal diversity. For instance, in Peru—the fictional setting where the healing mushroom in Common Side Effects is found—SPUN has research teams documenting mycorrhizal fungi in the Andes, the Amazon, and near Machu Picchu. Dr. Corrales notes that fungi teach lessons about "symbiosis and cooperation," which underscores the need for a strong support network to achieve conservation goals.
🔖 Key Takeaways
The animated series Common Side Effects successfully blends comedy, thriller, and sharp social commentary, demonstrating the vital role of fungi both in fictional plots and real-world ecosystems.
🗝️ Unique Genre Blend: The Adult Swim series is a creative "mycology thriller" that defies easy categorization, tackling serious themes like medicine, conspiracies, and healthcare complexity through an animated lens.
🗝️ Critique of Power: The narrative is built on the conflict between the healing potential of a natural remedy and the powerful, corrupt systems (big pharma) determined to control or destroy it.
🗝️ Fungi's Vital Role: The show's premise has stimulated discussion about the actual importance of fungi, particularly the invisible mycorrhizal fungi, which are essential for 90% of plant life globally.
🗝️ Urgent Conservation: Organizations like SPUN are racing against rapid ecological degradation to map the world’s mycorrhizal diversity, providing critical evidence necessary to advocate for the protection of these scientifically unknown but ecologically valuable species.
🌐 External sources
Keywords: Animated Mycology Thriller and the Real Science of Healing Fungi
Animated Mycology Thriller and the Real Science of Healing Fungi
