Previewing ’10-Year-Old-Tom’ and ‘Smiling Friends,’ HBO Max and Adult Swim Promote Newly Streamlined Slate
Ben Croll In their first public appearance since WarnerMedia merged the two development divisions this past April, execs from HBO Max and Adult Swim previewed their upcoming slates, releasing new footage from adult-skewing offerings “10-Year-Old-Tom” and “Smiling Friends,” while talking up several more.Created by Michael Cusack (“YOLO: Crystal Fantasy”) and Zack Hadel (of the popular YouTube channel “psychicpebbles”), “Smiling Friends” picks up where the viral 2020 short left off, following the lives of two hapless cheer merchants sent to make their clients smile. Mixing 2D, primitive character designs with candy colors and the winking edge of an online forum, the series is due out later this year.