From the creators of Scavengers Reign and Veep comes Common Side Effects, a show that’s at once quirkily funny and chillingly relevant. It’s about Marshall, a fungi expert who finds a mushroom that heals all wounds and illnesses. As a result, he becomes a target of big pharma, insurance companies, and even government agencies, all of whom, according to Marshall, insist on keeping the mushroom from the public so they can continue to profit off people’s sickness. It sounds silly at first, like the kind of fearmongering, fact-less posts you roll your eyes at when they hit your timeline. And the show is silly, but in a different way. It has the absurdity and quirks that make adult cartoons so delightful, yes, but as a condemnation of capitalist exploitation and greed? It can’t be any sharper, especially now that medical costs are skyrocketing and the public are starting to fight back.
"This animated world may revolve around a fantastical fungus, but it contains all of our real-world frustrations, as well as our questions, about what we can actually do to improve how normalized our miseries have become."
— Roxana Hadadi
"The show usurps expectations for good reason -- and for a reason fairly common to classic conspiracy stories: to get us to rethink the way the world works. Hopefully, before it’s too late."
— Ben Travers
Former high school lab partners Marshall and Frances begin to unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the federal government to suppress knowledge of a rare mushroom that may hold the key to curing all the world’s diseases.
When Marshall (Dave King) finds an all-healing mushroom, he enlists the help of his high school friend Frances (Emily Pendergast) to escape powerful forces stopping him from publicizing his discovery.
I know, I know it’s just a cartoon…but what if such a drug really does exist???
Luigi Mangione, do I have a show for you.
Spirit Awards
1 nomination
