Reddit AMA Recap: Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon of ”Rick and Morty”

Aside from the fact that Rick and Morty is the best animated series on television today, another startling thing has happened since last year when Justin Roiland did his last Reddit AMA. Last year Justin got a BUNCH of questions about his Channel 101 days, his work as ”Lemongrab” on Adventure Time, and maybe a bit about this new series he was working on coming soon to Adult Swim called Rick and Morty. At the time the series may have felt like a bit of an afterthought, in terms of Justin’s career.

Fast forward to yesterday when Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon decided to do a new Reddit AMA talking all things Rick and Morty, and EVERY question was about the future of the series and where people can find merch. Ok, there was maybe a spot or two of Community questions for Dan, but for the most part mostly Rick and Morty and from the sounds of it a lot of people on the interweb are in agreement that we are at the dawn of what could be the most important animated show on South Park.  As a matter of fact, I saw more answers from Dan that had more to do with the current state of television and what he likes to watch and what it’s like working in this business which I actually think is way more fascinating than ”What was it like to fight with Chevy Chase”.

So, about that merchandise…when can we see it? Justin is working on it…

I’m working on it. I want so much Chinese made licensed merch. I want to fucking choke on it and suffocate under massive piles of it. Not kidding. That’s how I want to die. Just me, some kind of pain killer (just to take the edge off), maybe a couple strippers, and piles of Rick and Morty merch just slowly crushing me (and the strippers) to death. The way a snake slowly crushes a mouse and suffocates it. You get the idea.

Note: if any Rick and Morty merch comes to your door with blood or body parts, you’ve been warned. One of the more interesting answers that Dan had was when the creators were asked about returning characters and if future episodes will have the typical ”A” plot ”B” plots that maybe the earlier episodes had. What we learned was that the writing for Rick and Morty has gotten so sophisticated, that the two story lines intertwine and usually end up bringing us a beautiful mess (see our review of last night’s episode later today):

I originally suggested to Justin that the show have this very specific template, in which there was always an A story with Rick and Morty on an insane adventure, and a B story driven by a grounded, emotional, petty, domestic story. I never intended for that to be forever, I figured that template would evaporate, but as you can see, it went away fast. We get great results letting the stories dovetail and influence each other. 

Even better about this AMA, you can tell that Dan Harmon really loves Rick and Morty. There are a bunch of executive producers that will tag their name on a TV show and just make a cut and hope for the best. Dan seems to really know his characters on Rick and Morty and this was showcased when he was asked why Beth (played by Sarah Chalke) isn’t more screwed up despite the fact that she is indeed Rick’s offspring:

Oh my God. Beth is so messed up. I guess I [think I] know more about her than what you’ve learned so far, but you know she got pregnant at seventeen. You know the guy that knocked her up wouldn’t have been her first choice. You know her mother’s out of the picture but that her Dad, who was out of the picture when she was a child, is now back IN the picture, and that, unlike Jerry, she seems relatively fine with his influence on her learning-disabled son. It seems like she’d rather her son risk his life with her insane father than end up being…like her husband. That’s really, really fucked up.

We know that kids blame themselves for their parents breaking up, that’s pretty standard psychology. But from there, we have different mechanisms for coping with the blame. And one of the strategies we see people employ, in the face of an absentee parent, is a deification of the parent that takes LESS responsibility. Beth thinks her dad is better than her mother because her dad had the brain and guts to leave her.

That’s really, really fucked up.

Rick’s daughter is more fucked up than Rick, and fucked up because of Rick, don’t you worry about that.

 

Oh, speaking of Dan, there’s a Heat Vision and Jack cartoon in the works. What’s Heat Vision and Jack? Welp, this was a short made a WHILE ago that featured Jack Black and Owen Wilson in the starring roles, with Ben Stiller directing and Dan Harmon producing. Nothing has really come from it since BUT…

They’re trying to develop a Heat Vision and Jack cartoon right now, I believe…Schrab and I kind of “sold” the idea to a studio but after a while, we backed out of it creatively and they hired writers to take it over, because it felt like they wanted Bob’s Burgers but with a motorcycle. I say that never having seen Bob’s Burgers and knowing that it’s good, I’m just saying, do it with a burger, that’s working fine already, don’t do it with a motorcycle. 

Dan would go on to say that he would prefer to do an Eagleheart type deal on Adult Swim, where it would still be a low-budget/live-action thing, but I do think if Dan produced the franchise as an animated series for Adult Swim, he would get WAY more creative freedom and continue to utilize the Starburns Industries team which is all sorts of top-notch.

That said, there was a whole bunch more of AMA from Dan and Justin, with both giving fascinating anecdotes about getting into the TV business and whatnot. Justin intends to keep answering questions for the rest of the week, so you still have time to go over to Reddit and say hi. If any major news develops we will definitely keep you guys in the know.