For the last seven years, the raunchy animated series Rick and Morty has taken the world by storm. The series has completely dominated the adult animation industry since its triumphant debut in 2013.
Rick and Morty, created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, explores modern intergalactic horrors and the most dysfunctional family dynamics, while also packing in some solid love arcs and coming-of-age awakenings.
The series follows the timeless family patriarch Grandpa Rick (Sorry, Jerry!) and his adventures with his grandchildren, Morty and Summer. These adventures usually feature time travel, engaging in intergalactic wars and Rick’s eclectic personality.
Most recently, the news surrounding Rick and Morty have touched upon the themes of the now-airing fifth season, director Zack Snyder’s admittance that he’d be interested in helming a movie adaptation and the show’s ability to pull in A-list stars as guest characters.
Serving as the current showrunner of the show is “Brooklyn-born” Scott Marder, most popular for his work producing Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Monsters & Critics was able to speak with Marder about his own personal television habits and his experience leading the Rick and Morty crew.
In this interview, we asked the big questions: What were your thoughts on Zack Snyder’s expressed interest? Will the Rick-and-Morty-Obsessed Captain America star Chris Evans make a guest appearance anytime soon? And, are you bringing back Pickle Rick in future seasons?
Watch the full interview:
Marder’s TV Guide
Monsters & Critics: What have you been watching lately and what is your comfort television show or movie?
Scott Marder: I’ve been enjoying Hacks. That’s been really good on HBO Max. That Tim Robinson’s sketch show [I Think You Should Leave] just popped up with its second season on Netflix last night. I was so delighted to see that. That show was one of my favorite things last year.
Monsters & Critics: Did you watch the new season?
Marder: I watched all of it. I didn’t know it was coming out, so I was just delighted to see it was on. I feel like a lot of times I end up watching more drama than I do comedy because I can turn off a bit of my comedy brain. Like, I love Succession on HBO.
I was watching the show called Alone on Netflix, which is all about surviving in the Arctic. I was going there to watch Alone and then I saw that Tim Robbinson show popped up. And I was like, what a treat. Christmas came early.
Monsters & Critics: We’ve seen three episodes of Season 5 so far. Which has been your favorite episode of the three?
Marder: Yeah, I don’t know. I like bits and pieces of all of them, honestly. They’re all kind of my babies, obviously. I love Nimbus from the first one. I love the head-splittiness of the decoys in the second one.
Like as a fan, that got to be a fan before I got to be a writer on the show. For me, it’s such a critical part of every season to have episodes that just absolutely break your brain. I’m so proud we’re able to offer stuff like decoy family that just leave you shaking your head, wondering like how on Earth could they have possibly conceived that?
And then there are things in Planet Tina. I love that we’re able to get a little deeper with Morty because so often he’s in just a bit more of a shallow, like, wanting Jessica-type-deal. And it was nice giving him a little something extra.
Monsters & Critics: Both of those episodes are huge standouts for me. The decoy one, like you said, total mindblower.
Marder: Mr. Always-Wants-To-Be-Hunted was always a room bit, from years back. We had a sketch of him on our whiteboard and it was fun to get him to work organically into an episode for us. That checks an extra box of squeezing in this little extra thing that makes us laugh.
Asking the fan questions
Monsters & Critics: There have been so many iconic guest stars and Rick and Marty, like Christian Slater and Susan Sarandon, those have been two of my favorite. What is the process like reaching out to them? Are they usually already familiar with the show?
Marder: Most of them are, yes. Sometimes we hear that people are fans. We’ve got a great casting department and a lot of times they’re on the ball and are offering up the perfect people for those roles. It’s normally pretty organic. Thankfully, this show is so huge that it’s normally pretty quick to get an answer from people on stuff.
Monsters & Critics: It was about two years ago, Chris Evans had tweeted that he’s a huge fan of Rick and Morty. A lot of superhero fans have been waiting to see if he’s going to get brought in somehow.
Marder: It’s so cool. We’ve danced around that. There was a character that was up for grabs for him this season. I can’t remember who that ended up going to. He’s definitely on our radar. I mean, I’m a big comic book nerd from back in the day. So, like, all of the Marvel dudes are very much on my radar.
Monsters & Critics: Zack Snyder recently said that he would be open to directing a Rick and Morty film. What was your reaction to that?
Marder: I think that’s really cool. I really enjoyed Army of the Dead. I think he’s in a really cool space of his own right now. I’m excited to see what he’ll do in this little Netflix world where people aren’t really interfering with his vision as much. Actually, this is going to be controversial. The Snyder Cut was long as h**l, but I liked it better than the original.
Monsters & Critics: I think a lot of comic book fans would agree with you.
Marder: Yeah, it was a tad bit long. I wish there was another cut that brought it back to movie length, but I liked a lot of stuff and the tone felt better.
Monsters & Critics: My last question is from a fan. Is Pickle Rick going to make a return this season or at all in the future?
Marder: Yeah, that’s a good question. Will Pickle Rick make a return? I’ll be tight-lipped about that. He certainly comes up in the room plenty because he’s left such a footprint on pop culture. I won’t give anything away there.
Rick and Morty airs on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network on Sundays at 10PM ET.