If you haven’t been watching Rick and Morty, you really should be. Since the world was introduced to Rick and Morty in 2013, it’s become a massive hit. And now, co-creator Justin Roiland has announced that they have gotten the green light to make another 70 episodes. That’s huge. I mean, when a series gets the go-ahead to make more episodes, it’s usually only one season – which is maybe about 10 episodes. Rick and Morty are being given the opportunity for an entire lifetime. Perhaps the difference is because its an animated series? Or maybe it’s just so good that they just wanted that many more episodes.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, it’s an animated, science fiction series on Adult Swim, which is part of the Cartoon Network. The show follows Rick, an incredibly brilliant, but extremely cynical alcoholic scientist and his grandson, Morty. The two embark on a variety of crazy adventures, and each episode will leave you wanting more.
What’s interesting is that the Cartoon Network didn’t announce when they would resume the series. Roiland has already indicated that he’s waiting on the barrage of tweets from fans, asking when Season 4 will arrive. And at this point, it’s anybody’s guess. There was just over a year between season 1 and 2. But the hiatus between seasons 2 and 3 was almost two years (minus one episode). With that information in mind, fans might be waiting to get their hands on season 4.
But let’s put this into perspective. There were only 31 episodes in the first three seasons. Which not only means that they’re picking up a ton more episodes, they’re potentially going to be bringing us 7 more seasons. This is great news, considering how things were going after season 3 concluded. Dan Harmon (the show’s other co-creator) and Roiland indicated that negotiations for the next season had gotten complicated. And now we know why. 70 episodes is a massive amount and unprecedented for many shows. Futurama only ran for 140 episodes, and 7 seasons. But, maybe not completely out of the realm of animated series. The Simpsons have been on the air for 29 years, and they’ve given us 637 episodes. Could they be getting into Simpson’s territory? Or is The Simpson’s just a one of a kind type of show?
While Rick and Morty have a huge fan base, the show has controversial over the years. You might remember the whole Szechuan sauce fiasco. Which started out as a running joke in season 3, turned into quite the feud when McDonald’s tried to capitalize on the free publicity. Fans took it upon themselves to terrorize the restaurant. And over a year later, Harmon is still being asked to clarify what had happened. Harmon said that they didn’t get permission from McDonald’s to put their food in the cartoon, but at the same time, it was mutual. He also notes that the whole situation was complicated. McDonald’s, in turn, didn’t consult Roiland and Harmon, and well… that’s where we are now.
Regardless, of this controversy, Rick and Morty has a huge following, and they have just been picked up for another 70 episodes. Going forward, hopefully, the seasons are not as far apart.