For Rick and Morty fans, this April Fool’s Day is leaving them feeling anything but foolish. Adult Swim commemorated the day of pranks with a special midnight live stream recreating some of the adult animated series’s greatest moments, like Pickle Rick and the iconic intro, through a 22-minute comedic anthology stage production. However, that was only the beginning of the surprise, as the event ended with an official release date and first look at Season 8, teasing some of the zany new adventures the titular duo will go on next. New episodes will begin airing on May 25 at 11 p.m. ET/PT before the entire run arrives on streaming in the U.S. on September 1.
To this point, little has been shared about what exactly Rick and Morty Season 8 will entail after Season 7’s emotional finale, and the official description doesn’t have much to go on either. The logline reads, “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!” However, the first-look footage, along with a few images, gives a better impression of where the characters are heading next, as they discover a strange, multicolored eggshell and explore a place adorned with bunny masks everywhere. While the series still has plenty of mysteries to solve, there will also be time for sillier adventures like a cryoship heist gone wrong.
“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,” Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen said in an official statement about the announcement. “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.” Ian Cardoi and Harry Belden will be back in the saddle for their second season as the dynamic sci-fi comedy duo, with Sarah Chalke, Chris Parnell, and Spencer Grammer once again rounding out the cast. Series co-creator Dan Harmon also remains attached as an executive producer alongside showrunner Scott Marder.
‘Rick and Morty’ Season 8 Is Far From the End for the Series
Rick & Morty enters Season 8 still riding high with two Emmy wins for Outstanding Animated Series to its name, four seasons as the #1 rated comedy across all of cable television, and a spin-off anime that, while not well received, stands as a testament to the show’s global presence. With Season 7 still standing as Adult Swim’s #1 program upon its release, the network handed Harmon’s hit another renewal at New York Comic-Con last year that will keep the show around for another two seasons on top of its original 70-episode megadeal in 2018. Following the Season 7 finale, executive producer Steve Levy shared a glimpse of the show’s long-term future in an interview with Collider’s Carly Lane, teasing how the team has plans for Morty to start getting more introspective following his plunge into the Fear Hole. This won’t just be the case for Season 8 but for the rest of the show’s run:
“This is a good question. As much as Rick is sort of having to do the hard work of learning more about himself, or at least come face-to-face with who he is and what he wants, we haven’t really experienced that too much, the deep dive with Morty, and this is really the first time Morty is self-reflective on a deeper level on his relationship with Rick and what he wants and what is real. This is just the first domino to fall in that exploration.”
Rick and Morty Season 8 premieres on May 25 on Adult Swim. Episodes will be available to purchase digitally the day after they air, and all episodes will be available to stream on September 1. Check out the first-look teaser in the player below, images in the gallery above, and rewatch the live-stream on the Adult Swim YouTube channel if you missed out.
