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Rick and Morty season 4

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Rick and Morty
Season 4
File:Rick and Morty season 4.png
Promotional poster
Starring
No. of episodes10
Release
Original networkAdult Swim
Original releaseNovember 10, 2019 (2019-11-10) –
May 31, 2020 (2020-05-31)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of the animated television series Rick and Morty was confirmed by Adult Swim in May 2018. The season consists of 10 episodes. The first five episodes of the season aired from November 10, 2019 to December 15, 2019, while the remaining five aired on May 3, 2020 to May 31, 2020.

Cast and characters

See also: List of Rick and Morty characters
  • Justin Roiland as Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, the two main characters of the show; Rick is an eccentric mad scientist and Morty is his kind but easily distressed grandson[1]
  • Chris Parnell as Jerry Smith, Rick's son-in-law, and Morty's and Summer's father; a simple-minded and insecure person, who disapproves of Rick's influence over his family[1]
  • Spencer Grammer as Summer Smith, Rick's granddaughter, and Morty's sister; a conventional teenager who worries about improving her status among her peers[1]
  • Sarah Chalke as Beth Smith and Space Beth, Rick's daughter(s), and Morty's and Summer mother(s); a generally level-headed person, who is dissatisfied with her marriage[1]

Guest cast

Episodes

See also: List of Rick and Morty episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [6]U.S. viewers
(millions)
321"Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat"Erica HayesMike McMahanNovember 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)2.33[7]
332"The Old Man and the Seat"Jacob HairMichael WaldronNovember 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)1.67[8]
343"One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty"Bryan NewtonCaitie DelaneyNovember 24, 2019 (2019-11-24)1.61[9]
354"Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim's Morty"Anthony ChunJeff LovenessDecember 8, 2019 (2019-12-08)1.63[10]
365"Rattlestar Ricklactica"Jacob HairJames SicilianoDecember 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)1.32[11]
376"Never Ricking Morty"Erica HayesJeff LovenessMay 3, 2020 (2020-05-03)1.55[12]
387"Promortyus"Bryan NewtonJeff LovenessMay 10, 2020 (2020-05-10)1.34[13]
398"The Vat of Acid Episode"Jacob HairJeff Loveness & Albro LundyMay 17, 2020 (2020-05-17)1.26[14]
409"Childrick of Mort"Kyounghee LimJames SicilianoMay 24, 2020 (2020-05-24)1.22[15]
4110"Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri"Erica HayesAnne LaneMay 31, 2020 (2020-05-31)1.30[16]

Production

Background and development

Following the conclusion of the third season in October 2017, the future of the show had remained in question, with no announcement of renewal or status of production.[17] In March 2018, Harmon tweeted that he had not begun writing for a new season, in part because Adult Swim had not ordered any new episodes yet.[18] Harmon explained that contract negotiations were more complicated than previous seasons.[19]

Co-creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland wanted to have assurance that there would be many more seasons of Rick and Morty in the future, so that they would be able to focus on the show and minimize their involvement in other projects.[20] Harmon had also stated that he wishes for future seasons to consist of more than ten episodes, saying: "Now I'm about to do season 4 of Rick and Morty and want to prove that I've grown." This was in reference to him admitting that he should work more efficiently, control his perfectionism, and avoid past mistakes that had resulted in the third season of the show comprising only ten episodes instead of fourteen, as was initially intended.[21]

In May 2018, after prolonged contract negotiations, Adult Swim announced a long-term deal with the creators, ordering 70 new episodes over an unspecified number of seasons.[22] The two co-creators expressed their satisfaction, with Roiland saying: "We're super excited that, for the first time ever, we're locked in, we know what the future is, we have job security."[23] Harmon added: "Justin and I just needed enough episodes and the right kind of deal structure that would give us permission to do what we want to do, which is truly focus on the show. We got all that, and we’re both very excited."[20]

One year later, at the WarnerMedia 2019 Upfronts presentation, the fourth season of Rick and Morty was announced to debut in November 2019,[24] making the two-year gap between seasons three and four the longest in the history of the show.[25] Although season four was said to contain only ten episodes,[26] the creators have appeared confident that the 70-episode renewal deal will eventually reduce the waiting time between seasons, and it could possibly allow for bigger episode counts in the future.[23][26] In October 2019, it was revealed that the first five episodes would begin airing on November 10, 2019.[27] On April 1, 2020, it was announced that the remaining five episodes would begin airing on May 3, 2020.[28]

Writing, recording and animation

Writing began in June 2018, with Roiland saying that—alongside maintaining product quality—this time around, the writers would have to work faster, so that the episodes get released quicker.[23] Additionally, Harmon expressed his intention to let the show move forward by collaborating with the animators and making any necessary corrections along the way, instead of applying his perfectionistic tendencies in the earliest stages of writing.[20]

In July 2018, Harmon and writer Mike McMahan posted images from the writers' room on social media, which showed "Story Circles" drawn on a blackboard.[29][30] This eight-step storytelling formula developed by Harmon (a simplified version of Joseph Campbell's common narrative framework known as the hero's journey) was used in previous seasons to outline the narrative arc of an episode. It describes how the main character of the story leaves their comfort zone to pursue something they desire, how they are forced to adapt to an unfamiliar situation in order to achieve their goal, and how the story has changed them, as they return to their comfort zone.[31] Emmy magazine, however, reported after an interview with Harmon that the writing team planned "to shake things up with a more anarchic writing style." This meant a rather deconstructive approach, where instead of focusing on story structure, attention would be given primarily to cultivating ideas, jokes, and pieces of dialogue, and then the stories would be built around those moments.[32] Regarding the season's narrative arc, Roiland said that the season would contain "strong episodic episodes", and advised fans to watch them in the correct order.[26]

In October 2018, series composer Ryan Elder told Inverse that he was expecting to get involved with the season, when the writing process would have been partially completed.[33] The first guest voice was revealed in November 2018, when Sam Neill tweeted that he had enjoyed working with Rick and Morty, indicating that the team had finished writing some episodes.[34] Later, Roiland would also announce Paul Giamatti, Taika Waititi and Kathleen Turner as guest stars in the fourth season.[26]

In December 2018, Bardel Entertainment, Rick and Morty's Canadian animation studio, began hiring Toon Boom Harmony animators and FX artists to join the show's animation team.[35][36] In January 2019, animation supervisor Eric Bofa Nfon posted a photo from a conference room on his Twitter account, that featured lead animator Etienne Aubry and line producer Mark Van Ee, indicating the start of the animation process for the season.[37] Roiland said that when the episodes were returned from the studio "in color", the writers would look to make any necessary adjustments that might improve the episodes. Nevertheless, he appeared satisfied with the work that was done this season.[26] When season 4 of Rick and Morty officially aired, the creators of the show changed the style of the episodes to an episodic form.

Reception

The fourth season currently holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 8.63 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Rick and Morty's fourth season is both an exciting progression and a delightful return to form that proves more than worth the two-year wait."[38] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the fourth season a score of 84 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[39]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Couch, Aaron (July 19, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Creators Unveil New Footage, Talk Long Road to Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (November 16, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Episode 2 Schedule: Date, Title, Special Guests & Videos". Heavy. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  3. ^ Jirak, Jamie (November 17, 2019). "When Does 'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Episode 2 Air?". Comicbook.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Cobb, Kayla (November 25, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4: 5 Things You May Have Missed in Episode 3". Decider. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Plante, Corey (November 17, 2019). "Here's who every confirmed 'Rick and Morty' Season 4 guest star could play". Inverse. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Shows A-Z - rick & morty on adult swim". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Mitch Metcalf (November 12, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.10.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  8. ^ Mitch Metcalf (November 19, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.17.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Mitch Metcalf (November 26, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.24.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ^ Mitch Metcalf (December 10, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.8.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  11. ^ Mitch Metcalf (December 17, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.15.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Mitch Metcalf (May 5, 2020). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.3.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  13. ^ Mitch Metcalf (May 12, 2020). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.10.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  14. ^ Mitch Metcalf (May 19, 2020). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.17.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Mitch Metcalf (May 24, 2020). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.24.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  16. ^ Mitch Metcalf (June 2, 2020). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.31.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  17. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (January 4, 2018). "Adult Swim Addresses 'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Status". Variety. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  18. ^ Mufson, Beckett (March 19, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Season Four Is Up in the Air, says Dan Harmon". Vice. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  19. ^ Zinski, Dan (March 23, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Creator: Season 4 Delay Due to Contract Negotiations". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  20. ^ a b c O'Neal, Sean (May 10, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Renewed for Season 4: Dan Harmon Tells Us All About It". GQ. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  21. ^ Hibberd, James (September 26, 2017). "'Rick and Morty' Co-Creator Answers Our Burning Season 3 Questions". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  22. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Andreeva, Nellie (May 10, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Gets Massive 70-Episode Renewal By Adult Swim; Creators Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland Ink New Deal". Deadline. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  23. ^ a b c Alexander, Julia (June 14, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' co-creator promises no more big gaps between seasons". Polygon. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  24. ^ Macy, Seth (May 15, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Coming November 2019". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  25. ^ Ridgely, Charlie (June 25, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Episode Sneak Peek Screening Announced". Comic Book. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  26. ^ a b c d e Hibberd, James (July 17, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' creators give first season 4 interview: 'It will never be this long again'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  27. ^ Anderton, Ethan (October 7, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Trailer: The Disastrous Duo Returns with New Episodes in November". /Film. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  28. ^ Goldberg, Matt (April 1, 2020). "'Rick and Morty' Trailer Teases the Final Five Episodes of the New Season". Collider. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  29. ^ Whalen, Andrew (July 12, 2018). "New pictures from the 'Rick and Morty' creators go behind the scenes of Season 4". Newsweek. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  30. ^ Whalen, Andrew (July 27, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' co-creator Dan Harmon describes how Season 4 will be written differently, shares script pic". Newsweek. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  31. ^ O'Neal, Sean (May 30, 2018). "The Tortured Mind Of Dan Harmon". GQ. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Turitz, Neil (July 16, 2018). "The Sacred and the Absurd". Television Academy. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  33. ^ Plante, Corey (October 7, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Has No Music Yet, but Its Composer Has Ideas". Inverse. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  34. ^ Whalen, Andrew (November 1, 2018). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 release date one step closer with first guest voice". Newsweek. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  35. ^ Bardel Entertainment [@bardelent] (December 10, 2018). "Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody's gonna die. Come apply?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ^ Bardel Entertainment [@bardelent] (January 15, 2019). "We're looking for a 2D Harmony animator and 2D FX artist to join the #RickAndMorty team in our studio" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. ^ Plante, Corey (January 15, 2019). "'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Animation Begins, Revealing a Release Date Window". Inverse. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  38. ^ "Rick and Morty: Season 4 (2019–2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  39. ^ "Rick and Morty: Season 4 (2019–2020)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 15, 2020.

External links

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