The Matrix. A film from the early 2000’s or a way to teach your grandkids a valuable life lesson about taking things that don’t belong to them? In the season opener of Rick and Morty, “Summer of All Fears”, Rick does the latter as he traps Morty and Summer in a phone charger based hellscape where they end up stuck for thirty years matrix time.

Summer during her time in the matrix becomes a corporate girl boss, whereas Morty has rougher go of it and ends up going to war. The situation is worsened when they leave the matrix but don’t get mindblown, leaving them with all the memories and burdens of the lives they led within the matrix including the weight of being a successful 40-something for Summer and severe PTSD for Morty. Lessons are learned when the kids decide to be mindblown, clearing them of the trauma the matrix caused. Sometimes it’s better to forget.

Moral of the story: Don’t borrow phone chargers.

Overall, a spectacular start to the eighth season. 

Rick and Morty airs Sundays at 11PM ET/PT on Adult Swim.

The first thing that’s apparent in the new season is that Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty) get the chance to make themselves at home in the roles in a way that season seven didn’t allow. This is apparent in episode three, “The Rick, The Mort & The Ugly”, where both Cardoni and Belden get the chance to flex their abilities.

The second is the writing, top tier as usual with plenty of references to past canon. In episode one, “Summer of All Fears”, we see Summer go out west and wearing turquois, a nod to a line from the season one episode, “Interdimensional Cable”, where she threatens to go out west and “I don’t know, do something with turquois!” 

While we’ve had a few Christmas and Thanksgiving episodes, Rick and Morty gets its first Easter episode with episode four, “The Last Temptation of Jerry”. You’ll never look at Easter quite the same, though this fan is unsure if that’s a good or bad thing.

The final episode we got to screen was episode five, “Cryo Mort a Rickver”, which is going to be one of the episodes that truly stands out among the best episodes in the series. Though I won’t spoil it as to why.

Rick and Morty season eight premieres Sunday May 25th at 11PM ET/PT on Adult Swim.

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
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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!

Fun with Zach and Michael (Sat, 7/27 @ 7:30pm Pacific) – Smiling Friends co-creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack will be in attendance for a “special live draw and Q&A event” for fans.

We’ll have a more extensive list of activities, etc. closer to the show. Until then, here’s the full AS press release:

ADULT SWIM TO HOST FOUR-DAY “PIRATE PARRRTY” AT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2024 ALONGSIDE EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEKS, SERIES PANELS AND LAUNCH OF THE “RICK AND MORTY: THE ANIME” ANIME-RICAN TOUR

BURBANK (July 9, 2024) – Adult Swim, the global leader in adult animation, unveiled plans today for San Diego Comic-Con which includes an ongoing Pirate-themed fan “parrrty” featuring a series of special evening events, exclusive panels diving into key Adult Swim programs, and the kick-off of a cross-country mobile tour to celebrate “Rick and Morty: The Anime.”

“For reasons too long to get into, we at Adult Swim have always used a pirate ship (and, owls, but maybe we’ll do that at a later con) as a metaphor for how we operate,” said Michael Ouweleen, president, Adult Swim. “We thought, since we like to think of us, fans and network, as all one thing, that we should bring the pirate ship to the harbor of San Diego this year and let everyone join us on the – erm – poop deck.”

ADULT SWIM PIRATE PARRRTY
Adult Swim will crash onto the shores of San Diego with a shipwreck adventure on the network’s Adult Swim on the Green space outside the San Diego Convention Center (5th Avenue Landing and Convention Way). The “Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty” will include custom games, exclusive first looks, giveaways, and evening entertainment including DJ laser sets – no badge required!

The space will also host a series of special evening events including:

• AEW x Adult Swim “Battle for the Booty” Wrestling Tournament – Join a collection of AEW wrestlers who will face-off in tag team matches against famous Adult Swim faces for a no-holds-barred event as each competitor vies for the chance to win the “Battle for the Booty” title. Thursday (7/25) at 7:30pm
   
• Adult Swim’s Night of New – Comic-Con attendees will be the first to experience a collection of brand-new Adult Swim series at this special screening event featuring the full-length premiere episodes of “Common Side Effects,” “Rick and Morty: The Anime,” “Invincible Fight Girl,” and “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” alongside more never-before-seen Adult Swim content.  The screening will also be livestreamed in real-time on Adult Swim’s YouTube Channel. Don’t miss your chance! Friday (7/26) at 7:30pm 
   
• Fun with Zach and Michael – Fresh off the finale of the hit series’ second season, join “SMILING FRIENDS” co-creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel for a special live-draw and fan Q&A event. Saturday (7/27) at 7:30pm 

The first 1,000 attendees to join the “Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty” at 1pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will receive an exclusive giveaway! For more details on the “Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty” visit here.

RICKMOBILE TOUR KICK-OFF
This summer marks the return of the famed Rickmobile and Mortymobile for Adult Swim’s “Anime-rican” tour in support of the new series “Rick and Morty: The Anime,” and San Diego Comic-Con is its first stop! Fans attending the “Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty” will have a chance for a photo-op with the Mortymobile, while the Rickmobile will roam San Diego’s Gaslamp District with special giveaways. After Comic-Con, both the Rickmobile and the Mortymobile will cross the country for a nine-city tour that will conclude in Adult Swim’s hometown of Atlanta.

PANEL EVENTS
The fun continues inside with a series of can’t-miss panels featuring advanced looks, breaking news and insightful discussion from series creators and voice talent:

• Adult Swim’s “Common Side Effects” Series First Look – Come experience the side effects of an incredible panel discussion about Adult Swim’s highly anticipated new series.  “Common Side Effects.”  From executive producers Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, and creators Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, this comedic thriller follows two former high school lab partners who take on big pharma and government agencies as they try to bring a medicine that cures everything to the whole world. Co-creator Steve Hely and writer/director Sean Buckelew will join the series voice cast including Martha Kelly, Emily Pendergast, Joseph Lee Anderson and Dave King to discuss the new series. Friday (7/26) at 11am, Indigo Ballroom 
   
• Adult Swim’s “Rick And Morty: The Anime” Series First Look – Go further into the multiverse of Rick and Morty with the new series “Rick and Morty: The Anime” as it lands at San Diego Comic-Con.  Writer/director Takashi Sano, producers Joseph Chou and Takenari Maeda, and Adult Swim’s head of action and anime Jason DeMarco will share details about the intergalactic adventure and show you the inner workings of the new series on Adult Swim. Friday (7/26) at 12pm, Indigo Ballroom 
   
• “My Adventures with Superman” Screening Presentation and Panel – Join executive producers Jake Wyatt, Josie Campbell, Brendan Clogher, and voice cast members Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, Ishmel Sahid, and Kiana Madeira as they answer your burning questions from season two. Plus get the early scoop on all the action, comedy, and romance that awaits Clark, Lois, and Jimmy in season three. Airing on Adult Swim, “My Adventures with Superman” is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Saturday (7/27) at 10am, Indigo Ballroom

Deets and fancy box art below…

Adult Swim’s Emmy® Award Winning Series Brings Home All the Antics

Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season Traveling Across the Multiverse & Into Your Homes on Blu-ray™ Steelbook, Blu-ray & DVD March 12, 2024

BURBANK, CA (January 8, 2024) Go on an intergalactic adventure across the multi-verse with the critically acclaimed animated hit comedy series from Adult Swim when Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season will be available to own Steelbook Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray Disc and DVD beginning March 12, 2024. Get ready to binge on one of cables #1 watched comedies – and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with this outrageous set which includes all 10 episodes from Season 7, along with copious special features curated for the fans, including a deep look into season 7 and its characters: “Directing Unmortricken”, “The Characters of Season 7”, and “Inside Season 7”.

Rick & Morty has won 2 Emmy Awards and has received 5 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Animation Program for 2023.

SYNOPSIS:

It’s season seven, and the possibilities are endless: what’s up with Jerry? EVIL Summer?! And will they ever go back to the high school?! Maybe not! But let’s find out! There’s probably less piss than last season. “Rick and Morty,” 100 years! Or at least until season 10!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 10 Inside the Episodes (Featurettes) – Take a deeper look into each of the ten episodes from the season.
• Directing Unmortricken (Featurette) – Jacob Hair walks us through the challenges of making one of the most ambitious and action-packed episodes in the series history, centered on the climatic showdown between Rick and his arch-nemesis.
• The Characters of Season 7 – A wide-ranging look at how the character team crafted this season’s most impressive and challenging new designs. For example, how did the team create Jerricky, which consists of fusing two iconic characters together.
• Inside Season 7- A deep dive on S7’s biggest story shifts and reveals, plus an overall look at the making of the season from the perspective of various members of the crew.

With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1.

Lifetime to date, Rick and Morty has been viewed over 10 billion times globally, across linear, digital, and streaming.​

Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season will be available to purchase on Steelbook Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD both online and in-store at major retailers. The series is also now available to purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.

Pricing and film information:

PRODUCT                                 SRP

Steelbook $34.99 ($44.99 in Canada)

Blu-ray                                       $24.99 ($34.99 in Canada)

DVD                                           $19.99 SRP ($24.99 in Canada)

Audio: English

Subtitles: English

Running Time: 225 minutes

Rated: TV-MA

About Adult Swim

Adult Swim is the leader in adult animation and #1 destination for young adults for over fifteen years, offering critically acclaimed, award-winning original and acquired series such as “Rick and Morty,” “Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal,” “The Eric Andre Show,” “SMILING FRIENDS,” “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal” and “My Adventures with Superman.” Fan favorite anime block, Toonami, airs on Saturday nights and has expanded beyond acquisitions, producing original series including “Housing Complex C,” “Uzumaki,” “Lazarus” and “FLCL.” Adult Swim airs nightly from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET/PT) on its linear channel and reaches fans via Max. Connect with Adult Swim on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Subscribe to Adult Swim on YouTube.

About Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment (WBDHE) distributes the award-winning movies, television, animation, and digital content produced by Warner Bros. Discovery to the homes and screens of millions through physical Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD retail sales and digital transactions on major streaming, video-on-demand cable, satellite, digital, and mobile channels.  WBDHE is part of Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales, one of the world’s largest distributors of entertainment programming.

Blu-ray & DVD Artwork:

It was revealed Sunday that the show’s new stars are Ian Cardoni and Harry Beldan, with Cardoni providing the voice for Rick and Beldan playing his grandson Morty. This announcement came after months of speculation following the firing of co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland, who had previously provided the voices for the duo.

Due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, neither actor has commented on their new roles voicing the characters who have become cultural icons, but Hollywood Reporter spoke with co-creator Dan Harmon and current showrunner Scott Marder in an exclusive interview about the long search to find the right people for the job.

Marder stated that he always wanted two seperate actors to replace Roiland after watching the toll voicing both characters took on his voice over time:

We watched it over the years wear down on Roiland’s voice. It felt unfair to do that to someone.

Scott Marder

The search apparently took six months, where thousands of people auditioned before they settled on the pair. Neither Cardoni or Beldan have regular voice work on their resumes, this being both performers first high profile role. In yesterday’s NYCC recap, it was also noted that Adult Swim deliberately kept the duo’s voices a secret until now, due to wanting the show’s new season premiere to be the focal point versus discussion on who would be replacing Roiland.

Rick and Morty airs Sundays at 11PM on Adult Swim.

It would be a boldfaced lie if I said this year was no different… however, with both the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes at the forefront of the event (the latter still in progress) there were little expectations as to what exactly would be occurring this year. SAG specifically forbade any actors attending to comment specifically about any past or future works, leaving actors to answer the simplest of questions from fans.

That being said, it was only a few short weeks ago that we got a (sort of) answer in regard to Adult Swim programming via ReedPop’s Panel Registration page popped up inconspicuously, only stating the subtitle: “A First Look at New and Returning Series” and teasers of what to expect (although missing from the lineup was anime, Uzumaki – which some have speculated is nowhere near ready to be shown).

What we got was a pretty standard “What’s We’re Cooking Up At Adult Swim” panel, featuring President Michael Ouweleen, Director of Comedy Development Missy Laney, and VP of Comedy Development Cameron Tang, and moderated by Perri Nemiroff of Collider (whose expertise appears to be in horror films – not as a knock on her, but some questions came off a bit generic and borderline cringey – yet she powered through the interview portion). That being said, here are some of the highlights to the panel itself:

Opening Comments:

(Our “Formerly Known As Twitter” was somehow set to GIF mode when we started posting. Still looks cool, though.)

• Mike O was asked about action vs comedy and stated that it wasn’t just about the comedy shows anymore, giving Primal as one of the main examples.
• Missy discussed live-action and how you can have shows on different sides of the spectrum such as a Joe Pera or an Eric Andre.
• Cam mentioned the pitch for Joe Pera was “punk rock anti-business but also so funny.”
• Cam also mentioned having piloted a show over a tweet before (the show was not mentioned however).
• Perri asked Mike how he goes about passing on a show, to which he quipped “I make these guys do it.”

Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (Coming in 2024):

• Missy took point on introducing this show, Adult Swim’s first ever Spanish Language Program.
• Stated “I want this to be the first Adult Swim show to go Criterion.”
• Apparently, the show was originally pitched as being made with marionettes (which would explain the main character’s name).
• More on WWSP on our Official ASPR Announcement Post

Smiling Friends Season Two (Coming in 2024):

• Cam discussed suggesting to creators B about using S2 to develop and focus more of the lesser characters such as Glep, Mr Boss, and Mr. Frog (hello!)
• We’re shown an animatic from an episode – Pim takes Charlie to visit his “UFO Hunting Group” on the premise that Charlie suggested he was interested – he never did.
• One of the characters is quick to correct Charlie and call them “UAPs.”
• New character Fillmore is crazy-go-nuts.
• Very colorful vomit from one of the other characters.
• The characters unveil an “experimental alien beacon device” which ends up being a theremin. Charlie uses it to summon an actual UFO.

Yolo: Rainbow Trinity (Coming “Soon”):

• Off the heels of the SF clip, the image is teased (and not much else). We can’t wait!
• More on Y:RT on our Official ASPR Announcement Post

The Return of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Coming “Soon… this Year Soon”)

• Perri: “Why specifically Five episodes?” Mike: “Five is the new Full Season”
• Mike (in seriousness) talked about how they were all in town last year for the Aqua Teen Plantasm screening and Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis wanted to do more (as it’s fairly well-known, former Adult Swim VP Mike Lazzo unceremoniously pulled the plug on the show, with little warning to the guys).
• Mike agreed and was able to put together a 5-episode run based on the success of the new movie, as kind of a “Let’s see.”
• Mike: Show has been evolved for 2023
• Perri (to Missy and Cam – and later Mike): Which character was your fav and has that changed… 😒
• Perri segways to Checkered Past – Mike goes into the history of Ted Turner buying the Hanna-Barbera library, spawning CN, AS, and their respective shows, mainly What a Cartoon, Billy and Mandy, etc. Mike and Kim Manning planned to reair the classics for CN’s 30th which garnered great ratings, so they decided on the block, someone else came up with the name and they found the classic “SKULL” from the end of the classic AS shows, and it all came together.
• ATHF Clip opens with different animation and Shake narrating about a new world… Behold, Shaketopia!
• Shake (as a greek emperor-type on a throne) is surrounded by little gummy bear type creatures (they kinda remind me of the Storage Zeebles or the bees from Sweet C) barking orders one fetches him a VR helmet for him to play “Fantastisploosh” a game where you have to create rectangles out of squares – the game is definitely a parody of Candy Crush, voiceover and all.
• Scene glitches out to reveal… Shake on the recliner in a robe looking emaciated and drooling. Frylock reveals Shake has been “in” for over 2 months. Meatwad tries to draw a dick on him.
• Back to the game (and the game game) one of the creatures points out the obvious about the game consisting of squares being converted into rectangles… Shake zaps her into ashes.
• Perri asks how Mike determined the animation for “Shaketopia” …😒 (Note: Aqua Teen’s upcoming season is being animated by Floyd County Productions). Mike answers diplomatically on how the video game scene “informs the animation.”
• Perri expands on the previous question about expectations on “other animation styles” in the 5 episodes…😒 (see previous note). Mike jokingly says the budget wasn’t that big but that the “style” is much richer than the original series. He also promised that AI was not involved.
• Guest Stars including voice over royalty Maurice LaMarche, Gary Anthony Williams and Eric Bauza as well as Dan Folger, and Brian Cox (Succession). (As previously noted, Ronnie from Aqua Teen Pod will also be a voice in an episode).
• Mike: “It will be out soon… this year soon…” (It was rumored for a November release previously).

Rick and Morty Season 7 (Out Now):

• You’ve seen the clip and the episode by now. No sense rehashing it.
• Perri: Why kick off with Mr. Poopybutthole. Mike: We were concerned about him.
• Mike says the R&M intro is similar to the new ATHF one where things may/may not happen in episodes.
• Canon in episodes.
• S7 whole new characters and new worlds. “Servicing the characters.”
• “And there’s a great episode about spaghetti.”
• Perri asks Mike the burning question as to the voice replacements and why they’ve been kept secret. Mike responded, “It’s about the show… getting the show out is the point.” and that you’ll find out during the credits (if you’ve seen the episode or either Variety or Hollywood Reporter’s articles, you’ll know by now… more on that at another time).

Fan Q&A:

Obviously, showcasing the more coherent ones… most of which are essentially a wish list to Santa Mike:

• One fan asked for them to consider a Frisky Dingo Season Three, to which Mike responded, “I don’t think the guys want to.” (There’s a bit of rumor, innuendo and a tiny bit of fact as to how/when/why Dingo got axed – won’t get into it here).
• Another fan asked about Sym-Bionic Titan. Mike responded: “Never say never… but that was a Cartoon Network show.”
• A third fan asked if we’d be getting a Ballmasterz 8008 S3. Mike: “Not in the works but we love working with the same creators.” This bodes well for Christy Karacas who is an amazing talent.
• Fan asks why they’ve never thought of bringing previous HBO max exclusive Close Enough to the network? Mike’s answer is interesting (but expected) since there’s a lot of red tape in acquiring content from different avenues, even from an “exclusive.”
• Fan asks if they’re trying to go more General Audience/Young Adult shows… Mike says they have a lot of daytime hours now so both will exist.
• Next fan: More Xavier: Renegade Angel? Mike: “No plans…” but suggests they always could.

FYI: Mike O co-created Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, so he’s definitely in the “Let’s bring back the classics” camp. A lot of these asks may seem crazy, but not completely out of the realm of possibility…

…speaking of, there was also a Titmouse panel that brought up Venture Bros… yeah, we’re not touching that one. Jackson Publick already debunked it… anyway, here are some Venture Bros cosplay pics:

So that’s EVERYTHING and more Adult Swim that happened at NYCC this weekend. I’ll be writing more coverage from the convention over at the mothership pretty soon. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news as we get it. Also here are a couple more pics:

The trailer featured clips of old favorites returning like Mr. Poopybutthole, Squanchy, Gearhead and Birdperson along with Dr. Wong (voiced by actress Susan Sarandon), and promised tons of action in the upcoming season, but what fans were truly interested in was: how do the new voices for Rick and Morty sound?

While the exact identity of the actors is still confidential, and likely to remain so until the season premiere, the trailer offers up a sample of the performances which don’t sound too different from Justin Roiland’s original voices. As previously stated the production decided to go with imitation when recasting.

Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that two separate voice actors are portraying the multidimensional grandfather-grandson duo, with one providing the voice for Rick while the other is Morty.

Season 7 of Rick and Morty premiers Sunday October 15th at 11PM on Adult Swim.