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Rick and Morty has been a staple of adult animated TV shows since 2013, and it has only grown in popularity with each season’s release. Fans were recently treated to the release of Season 5, which began airing on June 20th. Of course, five seasons is a major accomplishment for any show, and it has some fans wondering if this will be the final season. 

Learn more about the fate of Rick and Morty and its critical reception below. 

Rick and Morty follows a mad scientist, Rick Sanchez, going on bizarre adventures with his grandson, Morty. The show relies heavily on science fiction themes, like traveling in time and space, and the characters frequently visit other dimensions and see different versions of others in those dimensions. 

The show has enjoyed a devoted fan base for years, and it has received plenty of critical acclaim throughout its run. Rick and Morty has a score of 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, and it has won several impressive awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series. 

According to Hollywood Reporter, the fourth season opened with 2.33 million viewers, and this was by far the most popular show available on Adult Swim at the time. This number of viewers doesn’t even count all the people that have discovered and watched the show on streaming services. 

The end is not near for ‘Rick and Morty’

Rick and Morty display at comic con convention
Rick and Morty | Ollie Millington / Contributor via Getty Images Europe

Fortunately, Rick and Morty will be around for the foreseeable future thanks to a huge long-term deal that was ordered in 2018. According to Distractify, Rick and Morty was renewed for 70 episodes at that time, and only 20 episodes have actually been released since then. This means that there are still presumably 50 more episodes after Season 5, which means Rick and Morty’s adventures are far from over. 

Season 5 of the show opens with Morty asking his crush, Jessica, out on a date, and the introduction of Rick’s nemesis, Mr. Nimbus. To watch Season 5 of Rick and Morty, you will either need access to a cable package that includes Cartoon Network, or you can stream it as episodes are released on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling TV. If you aren’t quite caught up to Season 5, the first four seasons are available on HBO Max and Hulu. 

Where will the show go from here?

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So far, each season has had around 10 episodes, so it’s safe to say that we can expect about five more seasons, give or take one, if the creators decide to change up their formula. Distractify also notes that the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, confirmed that there isn’t an end in sight but that he plans to retire someday in the future. 

This could mean that Harmon will end the show on his own terms after the 50 upcoming episodes are created. Or the show may need to change up their team of executive producers that currently includes Harmon, Justin Roiland, and Mike McMahan if they plan to continue beyond that. It’s not unheard of for animated shows to go on for decades, especially when you consider smash hits like Family Guy or The Simpsons, which have been on the air since 1999 and 1989, respectively. Even if Harmon does retire, the show could feasibly go on for quite some time if it continues to get renewed. 

Either way, it generally takes a year and a half or two years to get another season of Rick and Morty, so we can likely expect Season 6 to drop sometime in late 2022 at the earliest or mid-2023 at the latest. 

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