Rick and Morty fans won’t have to worry about renewals for quite a while, as Adult Swim on Thursday handed out a 70-episode order of the cult cartoon.
Described as a “long-term deal,” albeit without any announced time frame, the order is for more than double the count of episodes Rick and Morty has already produced to date. Co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have been especially precious about the comedy, spacing out seasons and waiting as long as two years before the most recent run aired.
A Rick and Morty renewal was given, but the extent of this new pact is quite unexpected. Should Roiland and Harmon maintain anything close to their current production schedule, this will keep the show on the air for as long as another decade.
Rick and Morty is the de facto flagship of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s youth-skewing cable sibling. It ranked as TV’s No. 1 comedy, cable or broadcast, among millennials in 2017. With adults 18-24 and 18-34, the show topped The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and Saturday Night Live.
Another 70 episodes will give Rick and Morty a whopping 101 total. That’s one past the once-magic number for syndication, and it certainly sweetens the library value for producers Williams Street and owner Turner.
To celebrate the deal, Adult Swim is rolling out a multi-city popup, the Rickmobile, to cater to the fervent fan base. The tour kicks off May 17 in Atlanta before making its way to San Diego Comic-Con in July.
