Dan Harmon fans may have to wait until January for the new season of Community, but the series creator’s Adult Swim animated comedy Rick and Morty is headed to the small screen in less than a week. Rick and Morty is scheduled to premiere on Adult Swim on Monday, December 2, however Adult Swim has been gracious enough to drop the full first episode of the series online. Check it out above to see what kind of whacky adventures Harmon’s animated characters get up to.
Based on the first episode, Rick and Morty almost looks like Doctor Who and Adventure Time collided and then got cranked through Adult Swim’s machine to add a bit of PG-13 humor. The Adventure Time connection may not be so far off the mark either, when we factor in voice-actor Justin Roiland’s involvement in co-creating this series alongside Harmon. From what THR posted, it sounds like Roiland hopes this series will be like “The Simpsons of Adult Swim." It’s a lofty endeavor, especially assuming he’s referring to the Fox series’ devoted fan base and longevity, but there may be other connections, as it looks like there’s certainly a family element worked into this new series, which centers primarily on mad scientist Rick (Justin Roiland) and his grandson Morty (also voiced by Roiland).
You may have recognized some of the other voices in the episode. Chris Parnell voices Jeff, Morty’s father. While Sarah Chalke voices Morty’s mother Beth. Meanwhile, Spencer Grammer (Greek, daughter to Kelsey) voices Morty’s older sister Summer.
The plot of this series is brimming with potential, as we see Morty being drawn into outlandish adventures by his time and dimension-traveling grandfather. Of course, Morty’s just a kid with kid responsibilities, like going to school, obeying his parents and staying out of trouble. All evidence suggests none of that is a priority for Rick, which is a good thing for the purposes of whacky sci-fi shenanigans, which appears to be at the heart of this animated comedy. Adventure and humor await, and in an animated setting that’s not bound by the limitations of a practical TV budget the possibilities are virtually limitless. Just looking at the titles of the upcoming episodes, which include “M. Night Shaym-Aliens,” “Rick Potion #9” “Anatomy Park” and “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind,” it sounds like there’s a lot more adventure — and some great movie references, hopefully — in store for Rick and Morty as the series resumes its first season.
Rick and Morty officially premieres Monday, December 2 on Adult Swim.
