We were treated to a sort of theatrical off-Broadway reenactment of some classic Rick & Morty scenes, leading into a teaser announcement for the upcoming Season Eight which has been announced by Adult Swim as airing on the network (and Max next day) starting May 25th at 11pm East.

What did you think of this year’s gag? Hit or miss? Let us know… somewhere… Until then, more info below:

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT RICK & MORTY, APRIL FOOLS & MORE?
– DISCORD – ADULTSWIM.FAN
P.S.: FOLLOW US ON THREADS & BLUESKY!

SEASON EIGHT OF ADULT SWIM’S GLOBAL HIT SERIES “RICK AND MORTY” ARRIVES MAY 25

BURBANK (April 1, 2025) – Adult Swim’s #1 series that follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on adventures across the universe, “Rick and Morty,” will return for an eighth season Sunday, May 25 at 11:00pm ET/PT.  Adult Swim announced the premiere date and released a first look at “Rick and Morty” Season Eight as part of today’s traditional April Fools’ Day broadcast special. The network surprised fans with a 22-minute anthology special featuring fan favorite “Rick and Morty” moments re-told through an Adult Swim lens of absurd, live-action, theater-based genres. Fans who missed the surprise broadcast can watch online here.   “We hope you enjoyed our theater interpretations of ‘Rick and Morty,’ especially if you are well-off/impulsive and now want to back a Broadway version of the show,” said Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen. “For the rest of you, we’re glad you now know when Season Eight is starting so you have time to stretch and get loose because the team has yet again made a totally great season of television.” “Rick and Morty” stars Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Sarah Chalke, Chris Parnell, and Spencer Grammer and is Executive Produced by Dan Harmon and Scott Marder, who also serves as showrunner. “Rick and Morty” was the #1 comedy across all of cable during seasons three, four, five and six, and has garnered two Emmys for “Outstanding Animated Program.” A global phenomenon, the eighth season of “Rick and Morty” will debut in over 170 countries in 42 languages.  In the U.S., new episodes will be available for purchase from digital retailers the day after they premiere on Adult Swim. “Rick and Morty” Season Eight will be available to stream in the U.S. beginning September 1.  The official “Rick and Morty” Season Eight description is below: Rick and Morty is back for Season Eight! Life has meaning again! Anything is possible! Look out for adventures with Summer, Jerry, Beth, and the other Beth. Maybe Butter Bot will get a new task? Whatever happens, you can’t keep Rick and Morty down for long. People have tried!

First, let’s recap this year’s gag… as with every year since 2004, the Internet’s been rampant with speculation and ideas of what this year’s would end up being. With AS announcing “New Smiling Friends” at midnight, there were ideas… but no one (outside of creators Michael Cusack, Zach Hadel, as well as the “Adult Swim Center For Puppetry Farts”) could have seen this one coming: PUPPETS!

I would totally buy a Mr. Frog puppet, but otherwise the puppet redux concept was fantastic. Especially, each of the three episodes were completely different. First, was the traditional Muppet/Felt Puppet look for Season One’s second episode, “Mr. Frog”. Second aired, “Shrimp’s Odyssey” was done in sock puppets (Charlie and Shrimp especially looking perfect) plus “Shrimpina” as a live-action human. Lastly, we got a paper macher puppet version for episode “Charlie Dies and Doesn’t Come Back”. Personally, I would have loved to see them do “Who Violently Murdered Simon S. Salty?” but overall this was fantastic! In a post-pandemic/WBD “shredding and deleting everything” era where the past 3 years were mid at best, this was a fresh idea and a welcome surprise. However, not the last bit of the night…

After the gag portion, we were treated to the aforementioned “new” episode from the upcoming S2 titled “Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4k (Anniversary Director’s Cut)”. While it didn’t feature puppets, rather back to animation (mostly), the episode was definitely back to form for SF and gives some anticipation for the upcoming season… which was announced for May 12th at Midnight on AS (next day on Max).

As of writing this, you can catch the entire 34 minutes of puppet fun below. Also a sneak peek at the upcoming season. One (maybe) interesting factoid from our friend Wizard of Jim on Discord…

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT SMILING FRIENDS, THIS YEAR’S APRIL FOOLS GAG, ETC.?
– DISCORD – ADULTSWIM.FAN

Check out official info below:

ADULT SWIM SURPRISES FANS WITH “SMILING FRIENDS” SEASON TWO PREMIERE EPISODE AND PUPPET SHOW TO ANNOUNCE SERIES RETURN ON MAY 12

BURBANK (April 1, 2024) – “SMILING FRIENDS,” the hit animated comedy co-created and starring Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel that follows the employees of a small company dedicated to bringing happiness to a bizarre yet colorful world, will return for a second season on Sunday, May 12 at midnight on Adult Swim.  Adult Swim continued its annual April Fools’ Day tradition this morning at midnight with the unexpected debut of three episodes of “SMILING FRIENDS” re-created in various styles of puppetry, followed by a surprise airing of the season two premiere episode, “Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4k (Anniversary Director’s Cut).” SMILING FRIENDS” fans who missed out on the block can still enjoy the puppet-style season one episodes HERE.  April Fools 2024: Smiling Friends (Puppet Version) | adult swimIn season two of “SMILING FRIENDS,” Pim, Charlie, Zongo, Allan and Glep continue their mission to bring happiness to the world, whether it’s a washed-up retro video game character, a troubled marriage, or even the president of the United States.    “HELLOOO EVERYONE HOPE YOU WATCH THE NEW SEASON OF ‘SMILING FRIENDS’ AND THE SMILING FRIENDS PUPPET SHOW,” said Cusack and Hadel. “IT’S GOING TO BE SOOOOO COOL AND FUN AND HOPE YOU WATCH!!!!!!!”   The quarter-hour comedy is co-created by Cusack (“YOLO: Crystal Fantasy”) and Hadel (“Hellbenders”). Beginning May 13, new episodes of “SMILING FRIENDS” will be available to stream on Max and to purchase on Digital.