Common Side Effects: The Best Show You Probably Didn’t Watch.

I told myself when I started this blog that I wouldn’t just be a film and television reviewer. Sure, my first blog is a review of a series, but that feels different to me since The Big Lez Show originated on YouTube. However, this show is good enough that I feel the need to explain my thoughts on it, and why it’s so important. Also, some spoilers lie ahead, nothing major, just be aware of it in case you plan to watch the show. 

What happens when medicine is no longer needed? What happens when cancer is cured in 5 minutes, gunshot wounds close in seconds, and crippling diseases like dementia can be eradicated with a few spores? These are the questions that Adult Swim’s Common Side Effects posits. Positioned from both sides of the question, this show is arguably one of the best shows this decade, and it breaks many rules to be such a profound piece of media. 

I found this show from the first look, and when the two DEA agents danced in their car, I was in. I went into Common Side Effects with the mindset that this would be a silly cartoon, in the same vein as Family Guy or The Simpsons. Maybe a couple of jokes, some kind of storyline, but nothing to write home about. Right?

Well, look where we are now. Writing home about it. 

This show is a 10/10 in every aspect. At its core, it is a true conspiracy thriller, with immaculate comedy thrown into the mix. It weaves a fleshed out, realistic drama, all through a fresh animation style that can reflect drab environments like a desolate prison cell, to wild trip concept art that amazes the eyes. 

The character design, while a little silly, actually turns out to be flawless for the show’s needs. Despite everyone having goofy proportions, every character feels like they could be a real person. Sure, the main character, Marshall Cuso, goes almost everywhere sporting flip flops, an open pink shirt, and a bucket hat, but considering that Marshall is a genius mycologist who would likely pay little attention to his outward appearance in real life, it actually makes perfect sense for his character. A character like Agent Harrington sporting short hair seems very practical considering she is a field agent for the DEA. Everything about these characters just works in the show’s favor, and it’s clear the writing staff and the animation teams had close communication during the development of this show. 

The writing room on this show also deserves quite the commendation. They examined an idea that, while not original, runs much deeper than one might think: 

Was our system designed to be like this? What if those in power have an alternate goal? With all the money poured into the healthcare industry, why are we still unwell?

It turns out, at least in Common Side Effects, it’s all intentional. While I won’t allege that the healthcare industry is corrupt, (it is, but I like my life right now. I’d prefer to keep it) Common Side Effects posits that the government and Big Pharma are working together to keep the general public in need of a broken healthcare system. 

However, the main character Marshall, discovers a mushroom called the “Blue Angel,” a perfect storm spore that can

literally heal all wounds, mental and physical. So, when Big Pharma finds out, they do whatever they can to stop him from making more. 

Here’s the thing. What does Common Side Effects do differently? Positioning. Both Marshall and the Big Pharma execs have valid and understandable reasons for their motives. There is nuance to both sides of the coin, that taints either action. 

Marshall wants to change the world. He wants to use the Blue Angel to save lives and improve the global quality of life. It’s a noble cause, and it’d truly be doable…if not for greed. 

The mushroom concept put forward by Common Side Effects is fascinating. Throughout the show, multiple people take it in order to fix injuries, destroy diseases, and prevent death or even undo it. In Marshall’s vision of the new world order, the only thing that would kill people is old age. The mechanics of the mushroom contain a similar intrigue. When a patient takes it, they are taken on a trip. These psychedelic trip sequences are stunning. But they do something really well: they don’t tell the viewer how the mushroom fixes everything. Just that it does. And that’s where the nuance of this drug is found. Even though it heals the user, there are side effects. Marshall just knows that it works, he doesn’t know what else might come with this “miracle” drug. The viewer needs to ask, “what the catch?” 

Big Pharma, represented by Jonas “the Wolf” Backstein, might not have the individual’s needs in mind. But that doesn’t make Jonas wrong. Greedy, yes, but not incorrect. Here’s why. 

Jonas tells Rick, CEO of Reutical Medicine, that while the Blue Angel mushroom would absolutely change the world, and sickness would certainly become a thing of the past, the good that comes from the mushroom would last for about a day. No one will be joining hands singing Kumbaya. Human nature, and the poison of human consciousness, greed, are too powerful. Jonas explains that cartels would rapidly begin manufacturing the mushroom, and governments would do everything they could to control it. This would lead to violence. New, gruesome violence the planet has never seen before. If injury is no longer an option, every fight would be to the death. War would become unimaginable, and chaos would shred the modern lifestyle to pieces. It’s a truly terrifying thought, and Backstein’s desire to keep this miracle drug contained immediately becomes justified, despite the desire for such a final medicine.

What really surprised me about this show, however, is that almost every character has the opportunity to see both sides of the argument. Take the aforementioned Rick Kruger, CEO of Reutical. Initially, Rick is presented as an oaf, just some guy who was probably handed everything in life. He has his assistant Frances (another main character) do pretty much everything for him. Yet, he’s a good man, who clearly got into medicine with the dreams of helping people. When he learns of the Blue Angel’s potential, he risks his career to grow and develop it into a distributable product, despite still trying to go through the “big pharma” route. He doesn’t care that the Blue Angel would end his career. He just wants to help. 

He’s not the only one with a skewed playbook. Midway through the season we meet Hildy, another mycologist who mentored Marshall in the past. She and Marshall have the same mission, but with a different vision. While Marshall wants to start small, experimenting and testing the mushroom’s abilities, Hildy wants to go scorched earth. And she’ll do whatever she needs to in order to make that happen. The dichotomy between characters like Hildy and Rick is presented in a human, down to earth manner that lends the animated show a gritty sense of realism, keeping the viewer guessing. 

Common Side Effects dares to ask the viewer, “how do you think the world should change? Are the things these characters are willing to do worth it? Where is the line drawn? Are you willing to accept the consequences?” 

There are few things more interesting in modern media than a good moral dilemma. It’s what makes movies like A Few Good Men or Prisoners so compelling. When we’re faced with questions along the lines of, “is a miracle worth unfettered chaos?” we as an audience are forced to confront our own thoughts on the world order. It’s a line that Common Side Effects dances on gracefully, and makes the show incredibly entertaining. 

In my opinion, this show is very unique. It’s rare for American animation studios to create full blown dramas using the medium of animation, and I honestly wish it happened more often. Sometimes there are just things that a canvas can capture better than a camera.

That’s about all I have to say on this matter. If you haven’t seen Common Side Effects, it’s worth a watch, and it’s pretty short. I’m excited for season 2, although I think it’ll be a while until we get any news on it considering animated shows take forever. Would you welcome a miracle drug like the Blue Angel? Let me know, I’m curious. Thanks for reading.