Despite my better judgment, I still turn to [adult swim] for some great alternative programming. My schedule was especially crowded this year as I scoured Max (then, halfway through, HBO Max) for new animated series to jump into. Maybe it would help if I were more attentive to the cartoons that are truly challenging the game, but I’ve found that [adult swim] is a decent hub for shows that will leave me at the end of 10 minutes being surprised and inspired by something truly strange. The best of these was Common Side Effects, which mixed stoner humor with conspiracy thriller effortlessly. Elsewhere was the underwhelming Lazarus, and the “did anyone but me watch this?” charmer Women Wearing Shoulder Pads. And yet, there was one that embodied what I was looking for in 2025 better than just about anything else.
One of my pastimes for the final two months of the year has been to put on HBO Max and come across the box for Haha, You Clowns. As someone who’s been watching [adult swim] since they were in middle school, I am used to the channel picking a lot of left field, transgressive entertainment that really boggles the mind. Even so, there was some part of me that had to believe that it was much more insidious than its main trailer. In a word, it was… docile. If there was humor, it was a mix of voice acting defined by small affects and a grotesque animation style that both turned me off and pulled me closer. As far as I could tell, this was a satire on the wholesome family sitcoms of my youth, notably Home Improvement.
But… where was the satire? I started to believe there would be some hook. There was no way this was a 10-minute show about three sons being nice to their father. Everyone seemed too nice, not driven by any significant commentary. Because I had seen a few too many Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes, I would watch the trailer and assume the worst. Maybe this was a Menendez Brothers situation, and everything would spiral into violence. I also assumed that maybe there were pseudo-incestuous undertones, or maybe the dead wife would have a perverse backstory. After all, the show is called Haha, You Clowns. There had to be some latent aggro Gen-X subversiveness up in the mix. This is the network that chose to lead it in with the sledgehammer of Smiling Friends, which is nothing if not irony personified.
Nevertheless, if comedy is about the unexpected, then Haha, You Clowns wins this year’s prize for most surprising thing [adult swim] released in 2025. That isn’t to say I was right about a single thing. If anything, I looked at those meatheads and realized how much I was presuming about their caricature. They weren’t idiots. Despite having simple interests, they had rich interior lives with recognizable and respectable values. For a show geared at exploring characters wearing red state politics, they were downright likable and made the recent King of the Hill revival seem overzealous. There’s one joke I keep seeing among fans, and it perfectly reflects the tone of the show: their dad raised those boys right.
When I say the show does something, it’s that it exists almost without conflict. In an age where The Pitt and Severance are winning all the Emmys, it’s bizarre to get through 10 minutes where the conflict is about losing your favorite jacket. This show has nothing going for it. No rug pulls. Even what acidic humor is here feels toothless. For example, when someone picks on a person wanting mustard on their hot dog, he replies “Good call” when he finds they still want the yellow stuff. The show is intentionally lame, and I’m not even sure the comedic animation style really feels as silly as people keep telling me it is. Does it elevate the material? That’s a hard yes. But what is so funny about a show where every punchline is that people are nice to each other?
After a few episodes, I realized what this most reminded me of. In 2024, Steve from Blue’s Clues went viral for doing something that likely seems trivial to anyone outside the demographic. He posted a video where he provided an update on his life and said that he was proud of us, the presumptive audience who watched the actor 30 years ago solving mysteries. It was one of the more wholesome internet stories of the time, and I think it cut through the thick layer of cynicism that had developed in our lives. There was no sarcastic undercutting. Instead, it was a disarming hug that only feels awkward because it reminds you how long it had been since you were hugged.
Outside of the films Dog Man (2025) and Superman (2025), there hasn’t been much fighting for that sincerity in 2025. Despite my best efforts, I can’t help but acknowledge that the past 12 months have been a dark and conflicting time, possibly the worst in my adult life. Sure, 2020 was objectively more horrifying, but there was at least a vaccine announced in December and a new president on the way. Right now, the common punchline is, “I can’t believe there are three more years of this.” Sure, COVID-19 felt inescapable in a different way, but what we’re witnessing seems more preventable in its cruelty.
Which brings me back to Haha, You Clowns. To me, a lot of sincerity makes me skeptical. As much as I want to accept good deeds, there are times when I feel like there’s some “catch.” We can’t just be nice anymore without it having to lead to something transactional. It’s maybe the part I hate most about Christmas media. I’m sure some people sing those songs sincerely. As someone who’s taken part in door-to-door caroling, I think there is value in charitable behavior. It’s just that a lot of it feels processed and lacking authentic expression. That may be why I’ve had trouble watching Hallmark movies, which, ironically, have more conflict than the show I’m talking about. And yet, I’m here to say that I like it much, much better.
But why do I like this show that is more about nothing than Seinfeld ever was? I’m not wishing to credit it as some radical masterpiece, but more a late-night chance to recontextualize your own disposition. Much like the Steve video, I watch an episode of Haha, You Clowns and realize that not everything in life needs to be catastrophic. It’s okay to just be nice to your family regardless of how awkward it looks to outsiders. The ads make it look a lot more homoerotic than it is, but that is yet another issue with the current media landscape. The supportive nature of the brothers with their father and their ability to resolve matters rationally feels surprisingly rare. For as many news stories you read about loneliness epidemics and toxic masculinity, it’s weird to find [adult swim] ignoring their patented sarcasm to bring the most painfully earnest story I have seen in the past five years. There’s no judgment here. Nobody ends an episode conflicted. I’m not sure any of it is terribly funny, but I leave the average episode smiling because of how antithetical it is to the outside world. Like Somebody Somewhere before it, Haha, You Clowns embodies a Midwest far from the belittling hailstorm often depicted.
More than that, the reason I resonated with the show had a lot to do with where I found my life over this past year. Beyond the political landscape that has left me stressed, I’ve been making more effort to spend time offline. I’ve forced myself to engage with the outside world and appreciate things about the world that can’t be distilled in a thumbnail.
The most evident example is in helping my family. Without getting into everything, I’ve been required to help my father recover from surgery. This also includes doing housework and helping take care of everyday activities with my nieces. It’s forced me to think about life through their eyes and, in the process, wonder what future we’re leaving behind for Gen Alpha. For as much as I personally believe “the kids” have good heads (6-7 notwithstanding), I’m recognizing for the first time the difficulty of being “the adult” in that situation. Their lives are so fragile as they develop habits that may carry through their lives. It’s why I feel the need to be there for them, to try and give them advantages that I would’ve wanted at their age. For better or worse, that also includes doing fractions… which is not my bag.
There’s been more, but as I’ve settled into the role of uncle who commutes to pick them up on school days and bought them occasional snacks, I’m realizing the value in having a more caring, compassionate view of the world free of the second-generation irony poisoning that Millennials have upheld. Do I love that humor? Yes. Community remains formative to my sensibilities. However, I’ve noticed that as the news becomes more misconstrued, something is compelling about sincerity and kindness. I’m still skeptical about those who do it with a giant smile on their face (or with a video camera in hand. Seriously, people. Charity for the sake of virality isn’t the flex you think it is. But I want to believe there’s more good in the world than bad. I see it in the people who show up at the middle school to pick up their kids. What’s amusing now is that where I grew up imagining parents closer to a button-up dress style, I’ve seen mothers wearing Eazy-E and Enema of the State shirts. The PTA in So Cal sounds fun.
I think, because of this, Haha, You Clowns embodies some aspect of my year despite being a quick catch-up in December. I’m doubtful that it would make my Top 10 television. I’m not even sure it’s the symbolic example of a functional family that most would use. One Battle After Another (2025) feels more symbolic of the sacrificial dad we wish we could all have. But that has too much grandeur and creative license. Even as it reminds me of this beautiful state I call home, it’s not aspirational. There’s too much corruption and conflict. As the title suggests, there will be another battle after the credits roll. We just don’t know for whom.
At the end of the day, Haha, You Clowns’ biggest worries are the most basic anxieties we have of the world. It’s the fear of flying and holding babies. It’s the worry that you’ll be judged for having mediocre dance skills. What is conveyed through the resolution’s banal answer is that a lot of these concerns that hold us back aren’t going to ruin our lives. I’m not sure everything will ever be this simple, but having a strong support group goes a long way to making the struggle easier. It’s beautiful to watch unfold, especially in a time when people online criticize earnestness to the point that happy people lose faith in their passions. Not here. When dad feels self-conscious about his dance skills and tumbles onto a boombox, his sons help him through the bruised ego and concerns with aging. His ability to overcome failure may be simple, but it will build his confidence for next time.
In a time when everything feels conflict-driven to the point it needs to be overcomplicated, I turn on [adult swim] and am reminded that there’s smaller things we need to stay on top of. For as much as I would’ve loved to dedicate this essay to the King of the Hill reboot and its message of “It’s nice to be nice,” I found Haha, You Clowns to be more honest. In an age where hustle culture drives us and drama is the essence of online discourse, I return to that trailer and see something closer to life. Maybe the voices are odd and the kindness seems a bit too foreboding. Even the way that I presumed that something dark lied under the surface speaks more of me than anything it was suggesting. Instead, it points out that most of us have simple lives. We are not any less significant because they aren’t producing nonstop revelations. Somedays are about the minor achievements, and that’s what Haha, You Clowns captures the best. It’s the stuff that gives life purpose but, maybe, we don’t want to share with others because it seems lame. I didn’t expect [adult swim] to say they were proud of me for being a decent human being, but I’m glad they did.
Comments
Post a Comment