Thanks to the simultaneously run Comic-Con @ Home and Adult Swim Con this past weekend, fans had the chance to watch a number of really exciting and fun online events, and some of the best material of the stretch came out of the panel for Rick and Morty. Featuring co-creator Dan Harmon and voice actors Sarah Chalke, Chris Parnell and Spencer Grammer, audiences had the chance to learn all kinds of fun things about the making of the show and its future.
We already brought you the first look at Rick and Morty Season 5 on Friday, but that was just one part of all the awesomeness, so we created this feature to bring all of it into one place. There were a lot of great things we learned from the panel on Twitch, and these are our seven favorites.
No, Even The Writers Don’t Know Which Beth Is The Clone
The finale of Rick and Morty Season 4 packed one hell of an emotional wallop, as it revealed not only that Rick went ahead with Beth’s proposed cloning plan, but that he purposefully made sure that he didn’t personally know which one was real and which was created in the lab. The events have created a lingering mystery that may someday be resolved in the show, but for now it’s a mystery that lacks a firm conclusion. Asked during event if at the very least the writers know which one is which, Dan Harmon said that there currently is no answer, and that,
When [Rick] found out he doesn't know, he said, ‘I'm a terrible father,’ which is a metaphor for us saying we're bad writers.
Spencer Grammer Wears Rick And Morty Gear Everywhere, But Nobody Recognizes Her
Spencer Grammer wore tremendously appropriate attire to the Rick and Morty video panel, rocking a top with little Pickle Ricks all over it, and apparently it’s far from the only piece of show themed clothing that she has in her wardrobe. It’s something that gets a lot of attention when she is in public, and people comment that they like her outfit… but the twist is that nobody actually recognizes her as the voice of Summer Smith (an experience not shared by co-stars Sarah Chalke and Chris Parnell, but that’s arguably because they are also well known for their live-action work). Said Grammer,
It literally just happened to me. I was like, 'I gotta run out to get something before we started this.' And they were like, 'Ah, Pickle Rick!' And I was like, 'Thank you!' But they had no idea.
Dan Harmon Feels Like Morty And Summer Probably Shouldn’t Be 100% Okay With Having Two Moms
Despite Rick’s terrible parenting, the Smith family finds a degree of harmony at the end of Season 4 with everybody but the god-like scientist accepting Space Beth as a new member of the family. Unfortunately, it’s a conclusion that doesn’t really sit well with the show’s co-creator, however. Dan Harmon admits during the panel that having Morty and Summer instantly adjust to having two moms isn’t something that truly gels with their characters. Being a development arriving at the end of the episode, however, Harmon said that they had to “pinch it off.”
There Is A Major Shift Happening Behind The Scenes As Writing Is Outpacing Animation
One of the not-so-fun things about being a Rick and Morty fan is that the wait for new episodes can be a bit painful. Removed from the old system that demanded shows produce fresh seasons annually, the series has been more apt to release new episodes every two years, and Season 4 was broadcast in two separate halves. This has largely happened because of the writer’s room taking a fair bit of time to develop scripts, but now the dynamic is changing behind the scenes.
As confirmed during the panel, rather than the animators being kept waiting for new material, Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland & Co. have already managed to put together all of Season 5, and have begun work on Season 6. Sadly what we don’t know is if this will raise the chances of seeing Rick and Morty return in 2021, but it’s still interesting that the scribes have found their groove.
The Talking Cat Could Have Been In Season 5… Had Dan Harmon Remembered He Existed
Matthew Broderick makes one of the most wonderful guest appearances on the show thus far in Season 4, voicing a mysterious talking cat who has a strange obsession with Florida and a horrific, nightmarish past. Most fans would probably call him “memorable,” but evidently that doesn’t include Dan Harmon. The Rick and Morty co-creator was asked about the cat during the panel, and while he confirmed that any character that doesn’t meet some kind of terrible, violent end is kept in play for future use, he also admitted that the verbose feline won’t show up in Season 5 because Harmon forgot he existed. Now that he’s been reminded hopefully we will get to see the mysterious pet back in Season 6.
Dan Harmon Would Enjoy Doing A Bojack Horseman Crossover
Rick and Morty has thrown in Easter eggs connected to Breaking Bad, Gravity Falls, and South Park, and the titular characters have even literally crashed a Simpsons couch gag, but one thing we have not yet seen the show do in an episode is travel across the multiverse to create a legitimate crossover. As of right now it seems that there are no concrete plans to pull off such a move, but if they were to try Dan Harmon knows which world he’d like to play in: Bojack Horseman.
In addition to the shows having a shared audience, with many fans of one enjoying the other, the Netflix series also starred a veteran of Dan Harmon’s Community, with Alison Brie voicing author Diane Nguyen. The slight hiccup with this plan is the fact that Bojack Horseman came to an end earlier this year with the arrival of the second half of its final season. That being said, if any show presently has the power to resurrect it, it’s Rick and Morty.
While There Are Jump The Shark Fears, Dan Harmon Sees A Friendship Growing Between Rick And Jerry
Some of the funniest moments in Rick and Morty come when Rick is on the offensive against Jerry and insulting his entire existence (Dan Harmon highlighted “you injected 20 cc of liquid dream killer into my daughter” during the panel), but fans might be either fascinated and horrified to learn that the co-creator of the series sees them on a path to becoming friends. Talking about viewing things in the macro, Harmon said,
There's [an arc] evolving with Jerry that we talk about all the time, which is sort of like Jerry and Rick becoming... I hope this is doesn't jump the shark to talk like this, but Jerry and Rick becoming friends. That sounds like it would destroy the show, but we all have a lot of friends that were like incredibly disrespectful to abusive to.
At present we don’t know when we will be getting new Rick and Morty, but for now you can always rewatch all of the previously-aired episodes (as well as a number of other great shows with similar vibes). The Adult Swim show’s first three seasons are available on both Hulu and HBO Max, and cable subscribers can watch Season 4 on AdultSwim.com.
