Fall Asleep While Learning About Rick & Morty

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep while learning about the TV series Rick & Morty. I've always found it fascinating to learn about the behind-the-scenes aspects of shows and other creative projects. Learning these details inspires me to create my own things and helps me push through my fears of clicking the "publish" button when I'm worried about what others might think. If you have something you're thinking about creating and sharing, take the risk and put it out there. It's totally worth it. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Rick and Morty.

Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block,

Adult Swim.

The series follows the misadventures of Rick Sanchez,

A cynical mad scientist,

And his good-hearted but fretful grandson,

Morty Smith,

Who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures that take place across an infinite number of realities,

Often traveling to other planets and dimensions through portals and on Rick's flying saucer.

The general concept of Rick and Morty relies on two conflicting scenarios,

Domestic family drama,

And a misanthropic grandfather dragging his grandson into hijinks.

Roiland voiced both Rick and Morty,

With Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden taking over from him since the seventh season.

Chris Parnell as Jerry,

Spencer Grammer as Summer,

And Sarah Chalk as Beth,

Also a star.

The series originated from an animated short parody film of Back to the Future,

Created by Roiland for Channel 101,

A short film festival Harmon co-founded.

A seventh season was confirmed as part of a long-term deal with Cartoon Network that ordered 70 new episodes,

Which renewed the series through to a tenth season.

It was also announced that the series had been renewed through a twelfth season in 2024.

The eighth season is slated to be released in 2025.

Since its debut,

The series has received critical acclaim for its writing,

Originality,

Creativity,

And humor.

It has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program and won the award in 2018 and 2020.

The series has also received two Annie Awards.

At times,

The series has been the most viewed television comedy for adults between 18 and 24.

The popularity of Rick and Morty has made it a $100 million merchandising and media franchise.

The show revolves around the adventures of the members of the Smith household,

Which consists of parents Cherry and Beth,

Their children Summer and Morty,

And Beth's father,

Rick Sanchez,

Who lives with them as a guest.

The family lives in a suburb in the American Midwest.

The adventures of Rick and Morty,

However,

Take place across an infinite number of realities,

With the characters traveling to other planets and dimensions through portals and Rick's flying saucer.

Rick is an eccentric mad scientist who eschews many ordinary conventions such as school,

Marriage,

Love,

And family.

He frequently goes on adventures with his 14-year-old grandson,

Morty,

A kind-hearted but easily distressed boy,

Whose naïve but grounded moral compass plays counterpoint to Rick's Machiavellian ego.

Morty's 17-year-old sister,

Summer,

Is a more conventional teenager who worries about improving her status among her peers,

And sometimes follows Rick and Morty on their adventures.

The kid's mother,

Beth,

Is a generally level-headed person and assertive force in the household,

Though self-conscious about her professional role as a horse surgeon.

She is dissatisfied with her marriage to Jerry,

A simple-minded and insecure person,

Who disapproves of Rick's influence over his family.

Different versions of the characters inhabit other dimensions throughout the show's multiverse,

And their personal characteristics can vary from one reality to another.

The show's original Rick identifies himself as Rick Sanchez of Earth Dimension C-137,

In reference to his original universe,

But this does not apply to any other dimension.

But this does not apply to any other member of the Smith household.

For instance,

In the first season,

Episode,

Rick Potion No.

9,

After turning the entire world population into monsters,

Rick and Morty move to a different dimension,

Leaving the original Summer,

Beth,

And Jerry behind.

Rick and Morty was created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.

The duo first met at Channel 101,

A non-profit monthly short film festival in Los Angeles,

Co-founded by Harmon.

At Channel 101,

Participants submit a short film in the format of a pilot,

And a live audience decides which pilots continue as a series.

Roiland,

Then a producer on reality programming,

Began submitting content to the festival a year after its launch in 2004.

His pilots typically consisted of shock value,

Sick and twisted elements that received a confused reaction from the audience.

Nevertheless,

Harmon took a liking to his humor,

And the two began collaborating.

In 2006,

Roiland was fired from working on a television series he regarded as creatively stifling,

And funneled his creative energies into creating a webisode for Channel 101.

The result was The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Marty,

An animated short starring parodies of Doc Brown and Marty McFly,

Characters from the Back to the Future film trilogy.

Harmon would later create and produce Community,

An NBC sitcom,

While Roiland would work primarily in voice acting for Disney's Fish Hooks and Cartoon Network's Adventure Time.

In 2012,

Harmon was briefly fired from Community.

Adult Swim,

Searching for a more primetime hit show,

Shortly afterward approached Harmon,

Who initially viewed the channel as unfit for his style.

He was also unfamiliar with animation,

And his process for creating television focused more heavily on dialogue,

Characters,

And story.

Instead,

He phoned Roiland to inquire if he had any ideas for an animated series.

Roiland immediately brought up the idea of using the Doc and Marty characters,

Renamed Rick and Morty.

At first,

Roiland wanted the show's runtime to consist of one 11-minute segment,

But Adult Swim pushed for a half-hour program.

Harmon felt the best way to extend the voices into a program would be to build a family around the characters,

While Adult Swim development executive Nick Weidenfeld suggested that Rick be Morty's grandfather.

Having pitched multiple television programs that did not get off the ground,

Roiland was initially very unreceptive to others attempting to give notes on his pitch.

Prior to developing Rick and Morty,

He had created three failed animated pilots for Fox,

And he had begun to feel burned out with developing television.

The first draft was completed in six hours on the Paramount Pictures lot in Dan Harmon's unfurnished community office.

The duo had worked out the basics of the story that day,

Sold the pilot,

And then sat down to write.

Roiland,

While acknowledging a tendency for procrastination,

Encouraged Harmon to stay and write the entire first draft.

We were sitting on the floor cross-legged with laptops,

And I was about to get up and go home,

And he said,

Wait,

If you go home,

It might take us three months to write this thing.

Stay here right now and we can write it in six hours.

He just had a premonition about that,

Recalled Harmon.

In the beginning,

Adult Swim was unsure of Roiland doing both voices,

Partially due to the undeveloped nature of the character of Morty.

Harmon wrote four short premises in which Morty took a more assertive role and sent it to Mike Lazo.

For the first season,

Adult Swim placed a tamer-than-usual TV-14 rating on the program,

Which was initially met with reluctance from the show's staff.

The network's reason behind the rating was that it would soon begin broadcasting in primetime,

Competing with major programs.

Many later episodes have received TV mature ratings,

With the first being the episode Interdimensional Cable 2,

Tempting Fate,

In season two.

The theme song for Rick and Morty,

By Ryan Elder,

Was originally used in a rejected Cartoon Network pilot Roiland made called Dog World,

Which was referenced in the episode Lawnmower Dog.

Harmon has noted that the writers' room at the show's studio bears a striking resemblance to the one used for Community.

In comparing the two,

He noted that the writing staff of Rick and Morty was significantly smaller and more rough-and-tumble verbally.

The first season writing staff consisted of Roiland,

Harmon,

Tom Kaufman,

Ryan Ridley,

Wade Randolph,

And Eric Acosta,

While writer's assistant,

Mike McMahon,

Was also given writing credit.

Described as a very,

Very tiny little writer's room with a lot of heavy lifting from everybody,

The show's writing staff,

Like many Adult Swim productions,

Is not unionized with the Writers Guild of America,

Though in 2022 production staff at Rick and Morty filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board in a bid to join the animation industry.

The writing staff first meets and discusses ideas,

Which evolve into a story.

Discussions often include anecdotes from personal life,

As well as thoughts on the science fiction genre.

After breaking the story,

Which consists of developing its consistency and logical beginning,

Middle,

And conclusion,

A writer is asked to write a story based on the consistency and logical beginning,

Middle,

And conclusion.

A writer is assigned to create an outline.

Roiland and Harmon do a pass on the outline,

And from there the episode undergoes several more drafts.

The final draft of the script is last approved by either of the co-creators.

Harmon has admitted that his perfectionism can sometimes be disruptive and cause writing schedule delays.

For the most part,

This was the reason why the third season of the show consisted of only 10 episodes instead of 14,

As was initially intended.

Many episodes are structured with use of a story circle,

A Harmon creation based largely on Joseph Campbell's Monomyth,

Or The Hero's Journey.

Its two-act structure plays the act break at an odd location in the stages of the Monomyth,

After the meeting of the goddess,

Instead of atonement with the father.

Roiland has stated his and Harmon's intentions for the series to lack traditional continuity,

Opting for continuous storylines,

Not bound by rules.

He has also confirmed that the writers avoid revisiting old tropes from the show's past,

In fear of that coming off as disingenuous fan service.

In producing the series' first season,

Episodes were occasionally written out of order.

For example,

Rick Potion No.

9 was the second episode written for the series,

But was instructed to be animated as the fifth,

As it would make more sense within the series' continuity.

Animation for the show is done using Toon Boom Harmony,

A vector-based 2D puppet software,

Which is a more economical option than traditional hand-drawn animation.

The post-production work is done in Adobe After Effects,

And background art is done in Adobe Photoshop.

Production of animation was handled by Bardell Entertainment in Vancouver,

Canada,

For the first six seasons,

And by Lighthouse Studios in Kilkenny,

Ireland,

Since the seventh season.

Roiland's cartooning style is heavily indebted to The Simpsons,

A factor he acknowledged in a 2013 interview,

While also comparing his style to that of Pendleton Ward,

Adventure Time,

And J.

G.

Quintel,

Regular Show.

You'll notice mouths are kind of similar,

And teeth are similar,

But I think that's also a stylistic thing that all of us are kind of the same age,

And we're all inspired by The Simpsons,

And all these other shows we're kind of subconsciously tabbing into.

John Crickfalusi's The Wren and Stimpy Show was another strong influence for Rick and Morty.

Which is why,

According to Roiland,

The small,

W-shaped mouths that the characters occasionally make has a reference to a similar expression that Wren frequently makes.

Talking about the style guide the animators of the show have to follow,

Season 3 art director Jeffrey Thompson explained that the characters are often drawn with odd or asymmetrical features,

In order to avoid looking too normal to live in the Rick and Morty universe.

When recording dialogue,

Roiland does a considerable amount of improvisation in order to make the characters feel more natural.

In May 2012,

Adult Swim unveiled its development state that included a Rick and Morty pilot from Harmon and Roiland,

Which was eventually picked up to series in October 2012,

As one of the network's first primetime original shows.

The first season premiered in December 2013 and concluded in April 2014.

It comprised 11 episodes and aired Mondays at 10.

30 p.

M.

Eastern Time.

Two months earlier,

In February 2014,

The show had been renewed for a second season,

With the press release noting that Rick and Morty consistently outperformed direct competition in its time slot.

Season 2 aired Sundays at 11.

30 p.

M.

From July to October 2015 and comprised 10 episodes.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,

Roiland said that Rick and Morty will remain a big priority above anything else for him in the future,

And expressed his intention to keep the show growing.

Adult Swim renewed Rick and Morty for a third season in August 2015,

Shortly after a successful second season premiere.

The two co-creators and executive producers expressed their delight at the series' popularity.

The season premiered unannounced on April 1,

2017,

As part of an April Fool's Day prank.

The remaining episodes began airing weekly almost four months later,

Continuing in the same time slot from Season 2,

And the initial airing concluded in October 2017.

Although it was originally intended for the season to consist of 14 episodes,

As a result of production delays,

It eventually comprised only 10.

Following the conclusion of the show's third season,

Co-creators Harmon and Roiland wanted to have assurance that there would be many more seasons of Rick and Morty in the future,

So that they would be able to focus on the show and minimize their involvement in other projects.

Additionally,

Harmon had expressed his wish for the upcoming fourth season to consist of more than 10 episodes.

In May 2018,

After prolonged contract negotiations,

Adult Swim announced a long-term deal with the creators,

Ordering 70 new episodes over an unspecified number of seasons.

Roiland was confident that this big renewal deal would allow the creators to minimize the gaps between seasons to no more than a year,

As they would be able to schedule their time around the show and keep the machine going.

In January 2023,

It was confirmed that the long-term deal had renewed the series through a 10th season.

In January 2024,

It was revealed that due to the recent Writers Guild strike,

Production was delayed and thus made it so the 8th season of the regular series would not be released until 2025,

Though an anime series would in 2024.

At a New York Comic-Con panel in 2024,

It was announced that the series had been renewed for an additional two seasons,

Renewing the show through season 12.

In May 2019,

The fourth season of Rick and Morty was announced to debut in November 2019.

The fourth season consisted of 10 episodes split across two airings.

The first five episodes began airing on November 10th,

2019,

While the remaining five episodes began airing on May 3rd,

2020.

The sixth season premiered on September 4th,

2022.

The show is available to watch in its entirety on Netflix in a number of countries,

Including Australia,

While the first four seasons are available to stream in the United States on both Hulu and HBO Max.

Following the conclusion of the show's third season,

Adult Swim made a live-stream marathon of Rick and Morty available to watch on its official website in select regions.

Hoping to dissuade viewers from watching other illegal live streams.

In the United Kingdom,

Public service broadcaster Channel 4 outbid Netflix and began airing the series with Season 4,

Which represents its first pickup by an international television channel.

Season 4 was originally scheduled to premiere on Channel 4 in January 2020.

Viewer complaints resulted in the broadcaster moving the first episode forward to November 20th on E4.

In Canada,

The series initially premiered on Adult Swim on January 10th,

2016.

In Quebec,

It premiered on Teletoon's Teletoon La Luis block on May 18th,

2018.

A 10-episode third season was released on DVD 2-disc set and Blu-ray single BD50 disc on May 15th,

2018.

Special features include exclusive commentary and animatics for every episode,

Inside the episode,

The origins of Rick and Morty,

And an exclusive inside-the-recording-booth session.

Uncensored versions of the show are also available to purchase on various digital platforms,

Including iTunes and Amazon,

With the digital releases of each season containing bonus material.

Rick and Morty has been met with critical acclaim.

It holds an average approval rating of 90% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes for the entire series.

David Weigand of San Francisco Chronicle described it as off-beat and occasionally coarse.

The takeaway here is that it works.

He praised the animation direction by James McDermott for being fresh,

Colorful,

And as wacky as the script,

And states that the series possesses shades of Futurama,

South Park,

And even Beetlejuice,

Ultimately opining that its humor felt entirely original.

Neil Genslinger of the New York Times praised the series,

And stated that it was grandparenting at its unhinged finest.

In a review shortly after the second season premiere,

Sean Sebastian of Junkie said that although the crude animation and over-the-top voice acting might have discouraged some viewers from continuing to watch,

Rick and Morty is exceptionally well made,

And that the more you dissect it,

The more you find it has to say.

Todd Spangler of Variety gave the series a lukewarm review,

Saying that though it often seems frenetic at the expense of being witty,

It represents a welcome attempt to dream just a little bigger.

David Sims of The A.

V.

Club gave the series an A-.

In reviewing the first two episodes,

He praised its clean,

Simple style of animation,

And said the series has a dark sixth sensibility.

He praised its effort to give each character a little bit of depth,

And applauded Roiland's voice talent.

Rick and Morty has been a radiance hit since season one,

With viewership doubling and tripling over their first six episodes.

The third season ended with the best ratings in Adult Swim history,

An 81% increase in overall viewers over the second season.

According to a Nielsen poll,

The third season was the most-watched television comedy of adults between the ages of 18 and 24.

The president of Adult Swim said that Rick and Morty goes beyond just appealing to millennials,

With statistics suggesting that people of every age tune into the show.

The fourth season started relatively strong with its premiere reaching 2.

33 million views.

The show's average is 2.

51 million.

However,

Interest soon appeared to taper off after the network decided to split the season in half,

Causing a steep drop in the season's second half,

About a 40% drop in viewership from the third season.

The fourth episode of the fourth season saw 1.

62 million viewers,

Which was noted to not be impressive in its own right,

But in that it showed consistent viewership,

Especially when competing against shows like The Walking Dead in the same time slot.

The season five premiere episode was posted on YouTube and had 1.

7 million views within the first 12 hours.

The television premiere saw 1.

9 million views.

The premiere of season six was shown on September 4,

2022,

And saw the highest ratings in telecasts for women ages 18 to 24 and 18 to 34,

And non-sports telecasts for male viewers ages 18 to 24 and 18 to 34.

The episode was also the number two most-viewed non-sports program overall for viewers age 18 to 49.

Several former Rick and Morty Storyboard artists and crew members proceeded to develop their own shows or work on major new productions.

Creator Justin Roiland and showrunner Mike McMahon have gone on to co-create Solar Opposites,

An animated sci-fi sitcom that has been frequently compared to Rick and Morty.

McMahon also went on to create Star Trek Lower Decks.

Writer Michael Waldron would go on to write for Loki,

Doctor Strange,

And the Multiverse of Madness,

Avengers Doomday,

And Avengers Secret Wars.

And it's said that he and his colleagues are cashing in on a Rick and Morty street crib.

Show alumnus Jeff Loveness became a writer for Ant-Man and the Wasp,

Quantumania.

Eric Hayes,

The show's storyboard writer and director,

Went on to work for Netflix,

Big Mouth.

Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch,

Who worked on the episode Big Trouble and Little Sanchez,

Would become an executive producer of Inside Job,

Another show that has had comparisons drawn to Rick and Morty for being similarly themed.

Pete Michels,

Director of over 20 Rick and Morty episodes,

Was also a director of two episodes of Inside Job.

Show creator Justin Roiland said in 2019 that he would love to make a Rick and Morty feature film.

In June 2021,

Producer Scott Marder confirmed that the creators and crew hoped to eventually produce a feature film,

With Roiland stating that it is more of a question of when rather than if.

In 2022,

American filmmaker Zack Snyder expressed interest in directing a Rick and Morty science fiction movie.

On May 20th,

2021,

Adult Swim announced a short spinoff series centered on the Vindicators team,

Previously seen on the episode Vindicators 3,

The Return of World Ender,

To be in development,

Alongside spinoffs from other Adult Swim shows like Aquatain,

Hunger Force,

And Robot Chicken.

The 10-episode series,

Vindicators 2,

Was released in July of this year.

On May 18th,

2022,

Adult Swim announced there would be a full spinoff series based on the anime shorts,

Rick and Morty The Anime,

Directed by Takashi Sano.

Rick and Morty,

Both voiced by Roiland,

Have a cameo in 2021's Space Jam,

A New Legacy,

As they claim to have experimented with the idea of a new space jam.

Rick and Morty were featured in The Couch Gag at the beginning of Massleet's Feet,

The final episode of the 26th season of The Simpsons.

On April 1st,

2015,

A Rick and Morty comic book adaptation debuted with its first monthly issue,

Entitled BAM.

The series was initially written by Zach Gorman and illustrated by C.

J.

Cannon.

Artist Tom Fowler wrote a multi-issue story arc that began in March 2016.

Using the television series' established premise of alternate timelines,

The first two volumes of the comic book expressly features the Rick and Morty and supporting cast of a different timeline,

Allowing the comics to tell stories without conflicting with the canon of the show.

From the third volume onwards,

With the departure of Gorman as writer and his replacement with Kyle Starks,

The series switched focus to display the off-screen adventures of the specific Rick and Morty of the television series,

Keeping in the canon of the show,

With the Ricks and Mortys of different timelines forming the basis for backup stories.

On August 29th,

2018,

A four-issue crossover comic with the fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons was released.

The series,

Titled Rick and Morty vs.

Dungeons and Dragons,

Is co-written by Jim Zub and Patrick Rothfuss,

And art by Troy Little.

A sequel miniseries titled Rick and Morty vs.

Dungeons and Dragons,

Chapter 2,

Painscape,

Was published in September 2018.

It was written by Jim Zub and Sarah Stern,

With art by Troy Little.

The Rick and Morty vs.

Dungeons and Dragons deluxe edition by Rothfuss,

Zub,

And Little was nominated for the 2022 Best Graphic Album Reprint Eisner Award.

Reviews

I had heard of this show but had no clue what it was about, so this was kind of interesting in a boring sort of way. Maybe I’m just a boring person?! 🤔😂😂