How do I watch Smiling Friends in Australia?

If you live in Australia and haven't heard of Smiling Friends you could be excused but there's not a single living soul in the country who isn't familiar with creator Michael Cusack's previous work on YouTube. If you've spent the better part of a decade quoting Damo and Darren, Smiling Friends should be right up your alley. It's an absurd animated series from Adult Swim in the spirit of Rick and Morty that follows the deeds of the Smiling Friends, an organisation tasked with making people smile. Episodes are short and sharp and absolutely not for children, despite the colourful cartoon style. 

Frustratingly, no subscription service in Australia is streaming Smiling Friends or almost any other Adult Swim series for that matter. At most, you'll find Michael Cusack's other animated show YOLO: Crystal Fantasy and Silver Fantasy streaming on Stan.

Thankfully, you can buy or rent both Season 1 and Season 2 of Smiling Friends through digital platforms like Apple TV and the Microsoft Store. If you're willing to go one step further, you could use a VPN to sign up to the US service Max (previously HBO Max) in order to stream Smiling Friends. But that would involve paying for a VPN. 

Here's where you can buy or rent Smiling Friends in Australia and how much it will cost you: 

Smiling Friends is an animated television series from Adult Swim (emphasis on adult) from the writing-animating duo of Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel (who also happen to voice many of the show's characters.) 

Primarily following two employees of the titular Smiling Friends, Pim and Charlie, each episode begins with a simple objective: to make someone smile. Where it goes from there is... complicated. One thing each episode of Smiling Friends has in common is that you'll never be able to predict the trajectory of each episode. Pim and Charlie are often joined by their colleagues Allan Red, Glep and their mysterious manager Mr. Boss— there also seems to be a fifth Smiling Friend always teased but explicitly revealed. 

Smiling Friends episodes are short (typically around 10-15 minutes each) and littered with various animators lending both their voice and art (Joel Haver fans can't miss him in Season 2.)

Smiling Friends might not be streaming in Australia but there are still plenty of free trials out there if you're sussing out something to stream tonight. Check out the table below for a comprehensive side-by-side comparison of the various streaming services available.