This weekend, it’s time to get schwifty again! Nearly two full years after the second season, Rick and Morty is back for a third season on Adult Swim. And if last April’s surprise season premiere is any indication, the new episodes may be the wildest yet. Series creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have explained that one of the reasons that the new season took so long was the desire to match or exceed the previous season’s quality. Now, Roiland and Harmon are sharing a glimpse at their writing process.
In a newly released video from Adult Swim, Roiland and Harmon revisit “Mortynight Run,” the second episode of season 2. Within this clip, the duo explain how they come up with multiple jokes for each script and use the writers’ room to pick their favorites. For the first time, Roiland reads the alternate jokes in character as Rick and an alien bystander. Fair warning, the language in the clip is pretty NSFW, and Roiland even admits that some of the jokes are at his own expense.
For comparison’s sake, the following clip shows the gags that ultimately ended up in the show, including the entire “Roy” sequence where Morty went through an arcade game that simulated an entire lifetime of a man named Roy.
That was a brilliantly realized idea, and it’s part of the episode’s alien Dave and Buster’s scene that could have easily been mined for more comedy. But one of the strengths of this series is that it will introduce fantastical concepts for just a few jokes and then simply move on to the next round of gags. It’s a breakneck speed for the comedy, and the show is better for it.
Rick and Morty season 3 will officially kick off this Sunday, July 30 on Adult Swim.
What did you think about the alternate jokes? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t miss our chat with Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon at Kyle Hill’s Science of Rick and Morty Comic-Con panel!
Image: Adult Swim
