Photo: Christian Spencer
By CHRISTIAN SPENCER | news@queensledger.com
The “iconic” Smiling Friends made its pop-up debut in Brooklyn’s DUMBO this week, drawing a massive crowd of fans who waited hours just to step inside the show’s replica office break room.
Creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack were not present for the Smiling Friends event, but their absence didn’t stop the turnout. According to an Adult Swim representative, at least 3,000 fans — many of them diehards — showed up over the three days.
Victoria DeMeio of New Jersey, who runs a seamstress company called Just.A.Squish_studios, was among them. “So, I’m a massive fan of Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack. I’ve been watching them since I was a kid, and naturally, I followed along with Smiling Friends. I just love the show. I love animation,” she said.
“So, I’ve been here since 7:30 a.m., and I was able to get in a little bit earlier because I am cosplaying. I was chosen for the first group. But yesterday I was here at 12, I waited for two and a half hours, and then a representative came to the back and basically said, ‘Alright, here’s the yellow line. From this point forward, it’s going to be a six-hour wait.’ So I unfortunately left because there was also no guarantee that you would actually get something.”
Photo: Christian Spencer
Some of the most committed — and let’s be honest, slightly cringe — fans stood in the frigid wind from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., holding their spot in line for a chance to meet Pim and Charlie.
“I didn’t have much enthusiasm,” said Arkin Rao jokingly. “I don’t know, I had nothing better to do.”
Rao, who moved to New York from Seattle “two, three years ago,” spent most of the wait killing time. “I mean, I got to read my book — my textbook,” he said, adding he mostly felt “kind of hungry, kind of tired.”
At the end, he stayed in line for the payoff, saying, “Just to get a chance to get a free toy,” he said.
Smiling Friends has been a breakout hit on Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim block, following the wacky, irreverent misadventures of four quasi–social workers based in what looks like it could be fictional Philadelphia, whose job is simply to make sad clients smile.
The characters are muppet-like creatures called critters, enchanted elves, hell demons, and talking shrimp.
Photo: Christian Spencer
Episodes swing from helping a depressed guy out of bed to retrieving a box of paperclips, surviving a naked mole-man hostage situation, getting high with man-eating aliens, or assisting a sloppy, incumbent U.S. president running for re-election against a sadistic, drugged-up talking frog named Mr. Frog.
The chaos is the point. It is unapologetic brain-rot.
The fanfare kicked off at Empire Fulton Ferry, but the line didn’t stay contained for long.
A steady wave of cosplayers and die-hards pushed the queue all the way into Emily Warren Roebling Park, forming a single-file snake along the promenade.
Many came determined to see their beloved duo immortalized in statue form and live out whatever cartoon fantasies they’ve been harboring.
The waterfront pop-up drew people from every borough — and plenty of out-of-towners — across its Friday–Sunday run, giving the whole thing the energy of a makeshift mini-convention.
Inside the inflatable installation, fans were met with an isolated replica of the Smiling Friends office, equipped with a full-size Pim and Charlie, a coffee maker, paperclips, a TV playing Pim’s favorite show with the alien doing a cool spin from episode No. 1, and clips of the characters blasting throughout the glowing inflatable head.
Other attractions include a spin-the-wheel station where Adult Swim event representatives guided guests to win pins, balls, and figures. Those lucky enough to acquire a figure got one of the five collectibles that were up for grabs at New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic Con.
As The Queens Ledger previously reported, NYCC marked its 19th showcase, where fans of the show — among other fandoms — came to hunt for rare collectibles.
“I love the show. I saw the pop-up. I went to New York Comic Con. I didn’t get a figure, so I’m so happy that I was able to come out and get this figure today,” Jackson Robbins told The Brooklyn Downtown Star. “All the figures are the same. But in New York Comic Con, they only gave out one different figure every day. Here, they’re giving all the figures away.”
“You can get the figure — that’s the biggest prize that people want. It’s going for a lot of money on eBay. I’m not going to sell it, but I see the price and I’m like, I want it. And then you can also get a pin and a stress ball,” he added.
Photo: Christian Spencer
Currently, the complete vinyl toy set, including Pim, Charlie, Allen, Glep, and Mr. Boss, goes for $1,000 on eBay.
A single macho-centric Charlie figure, available out of the box, is going for $30, while the bi-curious Allen figure for $150.
“They have five figures for every character. And the one that everyone wants is Glep, because that’s the one that’s going for a lot of money. I also think Glep’s figure is the coolest one. It’s got the coolest design. But they’re all cool. If you get a figure, I think you’re going to go away happy,” Robbins said.
By the end, die-hard fans of the screaming cartoon got exactly what they came for: photo ops, prizes, and a gathering of fellow Smiling Friends obsessives, a bizarre yet undeniably upbeat fellowship.
At its core, Smiling Friends is a celebration of weird internet humor that parents might gasp to find their kids are watching on their smart devices, but its deeper appeal lies in its inventive use of animation styles.
Its awkward, experimental approach is exactly what connected Brooklyn hipsters to the downtown horde.
Smiling Friends is currently airing its third season, which premiered on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 11:30 p.m. ET, and it streams on Adult Swim’s parent‑network app, HBO Max, the following Monday, where it consistently ranks high in popularity.
