2 hours ago
1
Common Side Effects ★★★★½
The year in television is finishing strong, thanks to this American adult animation about a rare mushroom that has miraculous healing powers and the labyrinthine battle to control it. Equal parts conspiracy thriller, psychedelic mystery, tender character study and action stimulant, Common Side Effects is a series for the here and now: a gripping us versus them adventure where the sides slyly keep changing. “What does fungi do?” an expert observes. “It adapts.” It’s the same with this shape-shifting show. It can be sweet or sadistic.
Marshall Cuso (voiced by Dave King) is an off-the-grid fungi researcher in Common Side Effects.
The galvanising force for these 10 concise episodes is Marshall Cuso (Dave King), an off-the-grid fungi researcher who has found, in a Peruvian valley, his holy grail: a mystical blue mushroom with – as we soon bloodily see – unparalleled healing powers. An idealist who wants to change the world, Marshall has come to realise he’s in danger. Big Pharma and US federal agents are pursuing him, such is the power of his discovery. On the run with his tortoise, Mr Socrates, Marshall is an earnest fugitive.
Marshall’s dream of ending illness is an affront to the rich and powerful. Swiss financier Jonas Backstein (Danny Huston), who has a whiff of Henry Kissinger, calls him “a destabilising force”. It would be so much easier to make even more money via controlling access to the mushroom, and that’s the temptation that gnaws at Marshall’s old friend and new ally, Frances Applewhite (Emily Pendergast). Saddled with debt, an ailing mother and a Big Pharma job, she’s torn between helping Marshall and betraying him.
Mike Judge voices incompetent CEO Rick Kruger in Common Side Effects.
Loading
Common Side Effects was created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, who worked on Scavengers Reign and Veep, respectively. That’s a fitting Venn diagram – a phantasmagorical science-fiction tale and an acerbic political satire – for their collaboration. The 2D-animation style is muted in colour, with an offbeat character design that makes for expressive faces. A gorgeous tableau might cut to a chase sequence, or vice versa, while the mushroom’s effects are an otherworldly interior journey. Imagine Three Days of the Condor remade by Hayao Miyazaki.
The plotting adds a slew of illuminating and amusing supporting players, from a pair of drug enforcement agents starting to wonder who they’re really chasing, to Marshall’s former mycologist mentor, Hildy (Sue Rose), whose need to possess the blue mushroom drives her to extremes. King of the Hill creator Mike Judge voices Frances’ boss, an incompetent CEO mainly worried about losing his privileges. There’s a fascinating echo of Hank Hill in Judge’s performance, and that’s a recurring sensation in this compelling series – something familiar rendered startlingly anew.
Common Side Effects is now streaming on HBO Max.
