Ever wondered what goes down in the writers’ room when you’re crafting a show equal parts pharmaceutical paranoia, psychedelic mushroom trips, and razor-sharp satire? Well, grab your lab goggles, because we’re about to drop into the creative chaos behind Common Side Effects. Showrunners Joseph Bennett and Steve Hely aren’t just stirring the pot — they’ve basically thrown out the recipe and decided to cook up the wildest stew Adult Swim’s ever served.
Let’s break down how two creative ringmasters turn sketchy ‘what-if’ questions into a dizzying, world-class ride. There’s a lot more going on than just snappy dialogue and trippy animation. And yes, there will be plenty of behind-the-scenes mushroom talk. Because, really — have you seen this show?
Stranger Than Mushroom Fiction: Where CSE’s Conspiracy Starts
Sometimes the best ideas pop up in the weirdest places. Bennett and Hely got hooked on fungi. Not just for salad toppings, but because mushrooms straddle the line of healing and mysterious. What if a mushroom didn’t just boost your immune system, but — plot twist — actually solved every medical ailment? Queue the pharmaceutical lobby sweating through their pressed suits.
- Bennett and Hely started with one burning “what if…”
- Imagined: an earth-shaking biotech discovery
- Realized: Big Pharma would totally lose it
Steve Hely actually said in CBR’s interview, “We got going on this thought experiment of if there were a mushroom that was the best medicine in the world, what would be the consequences of that? Who would be coming after it? Who would try to stop it? How would you spread it?”
That’s where the conspiracy train left the station. And to think, most of us just see mushrooms and think of pizza toppings.
Creating Casts With Quirks, Not Cardboard Cut-Outs
A wild premise means you need wild characters. So, Bennett and Hely didn’t just grab shallow archetypes. Instead, they built Marshall and Frances with quirks and angst. This story’s heart beats with these two: ex-lab partners, now accidental revolutionaries dodging giant pharma’s wrath while wrestling their own ethics.
- Marshall? Inspired by real mushroom maestros like Paul Stamets, and even John Laroche (the Orchid Thief from Adaptation, not your average field trip).
- Frances? Relatable, messy, filled with doubts and drive, not just a sidekick.
The Wikipedia page confirms these choices weren’t random. These leads feel, well, like they might actually exist — just with slightly more existential peril than your local botanist.
Threading the Needle: Tension Meets Comedy
Here’s the sticky part: how do you splice suspense and wry humor without making a cartoonish mess? Bennett and Hely walked this tightrope like circus pros. They tweaked and tuned the script with the Coen Brothers on loop. Especially their film, Burn After Reading. If you’ve watched it, you know how it ping-pongs between dark tension and totally absurd scenarios. That’s the assignment here.
But it’s not only homage. Bennett told “We were both really intrigued about the idea of [walking] the line between drama and comedy… We had been watching a lot of movies, referencing…a lot of Coen Brothers movies, and just felt that that kind of tone felt really exciting.”
So, don’t expect all zingers. But don’t expect lingering horror, either. Expect to laugh nervously and wonder who’s around the next corner.
Animation: Grounded, Groovy, Sometimes Outright Psychedelic
If your eyeballs felt massaged and confused by the show’s look, that’s no accident. Bennett brought his indie animator’s eye to the table, but didn’t go full surreal — at least, not everywhere. The visual team stitched together grounded backgrounds (think: parking lots, doctor’s offices, boring conference rooms) but then spun the wheel into vibrant psychedelic dreamlands as the mushroom’s effects take hold.
That took a literal team, not just Bennett doodling alone. Green Street Pictures led the international crew, pulling in artistic firepower from France, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico. Art Director Wes McClain (the unsung hero here) helped amplify everything. Full credit — if CSE feels like it belongs in a film festival, that’s intentional.
Bennett loves collaborating with artists, saying, “We were very fortunate to work with all these amazing artists. Wes McClain…was a huge influence on the look of the show and really helped heighten everything in a lot of ways.” And when those trip-out sequences happen, you’ll know exactly who to thank.
Got Voices? Finding True-to-Life Weirdos
Animation lives or dies by voices. Bennett and Hely, instead of picking just any famous names, found the perfect oddballs.
- Martha Kelly (DEA agent Harrington): Her flat, deadpan style just nails that dead-eyed desk jockey vibe.
- Joseph Lee Anderson (Copano): Sweet on the surface, but strong enough to, per Hely, “bench press 400 pounds or something.” We’d believe it.
Anderson and Kelly didn’t just phone it in. They worked with the scripts, finding the perfect balance of real and ridiculous. Adult Swim didn’t mind stretching its comfort zone, either. They wanted these characters to sound different — familiar, but tilted at just the right angle.
Research: Not Just Tripping on Imagination
Sounds fun to sit around a big table, spit out mushroom conspiracy stories, and call it a day. But reality-check: Bennett and Hely dug deep on the “plausibility” side, too. They talked to people who know this world.
Who? Retired DEA agents. Pharmaceutical insiders. Actual mycologists. Can you imagine those phone calls?
- “Hi, yes, we make adult cartoons, but can you explain the real world black market for experimental meds?”
- “What’s the shadiest thing you ever saw a pharma rep do?”
According to comicbook.com, Hely admits, “We did a lot of research. We tried to talk to people from different points of view.” Even with all those wild sequences, there’s truth at CSE’s core. There’s enough to make your average biotech lawyer sweat, anyway.
A Living, Breathing Satire: Social Buzz and Sizzling Reviews
Let’s talk reception. Adult Swim didn’t just take a gamble here. After launch, the social buzz detonated. Fans swarmed Reddit, raving about the blend of mushroom psychedelia and “uncomfortably familiar” pharma machinations.
- Critics cheered the Coen-flavored tone.
- Fans unpacked every visual pun on Twitter and Instagram.
- Some actual science folks chimed in: “It’s all fun and games until someone patents your fungus.”
And the industry noticed. On March 28, 2025, Adult Swim confirmed a second season, thanks to buzz and critical love. So, this mushroom trip’s got legs. Possibly many — this is a show about fungi, after all.
Chasing the Next Dose: What’s Next for CSE?
A renewal means more bonkers brainstorm sessions, more research interviews, and definitely more twisted, deeply funny episodes. In season two, expect the writers’ room to lean even harder into the tangled, contradictory world of miracle cures and greedy conglomerates.
We’ll see Frances and Marshall get pulled deeper into corporate power plays. The show promises to wander further into government cover-ups, academic rivalries, and — yes — strain after strain of totally bizarre new ‘shrooms. Meanwhile, the creative team keeps pushing to out-weird themselves without losing that razor-edged sense of reality. Or at least, reality as filtered through a spore-coated lens.
One Last Trip Before We Go
Here’s the secret sauce: Common Side Effects works because Bennett and Hely treat absurdity seriously and seriousness as a prompt for more mischief. That’s not just clever writing; it’s an ethos. No wonder audiences get hooked — the show never lets anyone (even its own creators) get too comfortable. And that’s how true satire does its best work.
So next time you watch CSE, picture the writers’ room: part science lab, part comedy club, part paranoia bunker. If you walk away giggling, but maybe also a little nervous about your next prescription, that’s exactly what Bennett and Hely wanted.
Dose up responsibly.
