If there's one thing that Rick and Morty loves to do, it's riff on pop culture. Some of the best episodes of the Adult Swim series are based on iconic sci-fi movies or other things happening in our world. It feels like that's a trend Season 8 will lean into heavily, as Dan Harmon recently confirmed to CinemaBlend there's no end in sight for the comedy. So, how do they figure out which things to parody and which to leave alone? Surprisingly, South Park factors into their decision-making.
I spoke to Harmon and showrunner Scott Marder ahead of Rick and Morty's arrival on the 2025 TV schedule, and I asked about how they decide what's relevant for the show to riff on, especially when they're writing seasons of the series a couple of years before they air on television. Harmon explained the process behind pitches in the writers' room, and how they use South Park as a measuring stick to what they should and shouldn't be going after:
We have a South Park rule, which is, ‘Let's not play a South Park game because South Park can do it faster and better than us.’ So it's one thing for the thing you're referring to is like, ‘Oh, they're in Squid Game outfits,' so it's a direct reference. And it's sometimes hard to predict this, I think that it's when something is so culturally impacting, then we go like, ‘Well, it's going to be timeless no matter what or it's gonna feel like a timely reference, but people will. If you get it or don't, it doesn't hinge on it.
I love that Rick and Morty uses South Park as a measuring stick, and think it's very useful. It also reminds me of one of the best South Park episodes in which Butters was frustrated because The Simpsons had already done most of the things he wanted to do.
That being said, Dan Harmon is wise in acknowledging that South Park can be much faster and better when it comes to parodying timely events. Rick and Morty thrives on making episodes based around Alien or other pop culture events that have a longer staying power. To illustrate that point, he brought up one joke the series likely would never be able to make:
I think our rule would be if somebody were to pitch, you know, 'I think that this should be an episode about Justin Baldoni.' We would be like, ‘Let's not lose a South Park contest by addressing something that is so energized right now.’ We won't make our stories about that stuff. We might make references to what we hope are kind of timeless classic kind of pop cultural things.
Right now, the world is obsessed with covering the Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively situation, to the point that Taylor Swift is allegedly even involved. Rick and Morty is in a situation that's working far out in advance, so even if Season 8 is only just premiering now, it was written long before those two actors ever did a movie together.
Scott Marder added to the conversation and noted just how long it could take for a joke made today to make it to air. Again, we're watching Rick and Morty Season 8, but they're working on episodes we won't see for quite some time:
We've already written Season 10, but for instance, sometimes we're like, 'How impactful is that idea going to be when this airs in 2028,' or whenever it's going to air? We're like, that's very far away from the seed of that idea that got us excited about it. It's not going to be as exciting. So we do think about that occasionally.
I can't imagine the amount of pressure not just creating a joke that'll hit for audiences two years from now, but presumably be good enough that people who watch it even further out with a Max subscription will still laugh too.
Fortunately, Rick and Morty is as good as its ever been in Season 8, to the point that I'm no longer concerned there's no endgame for the series. I'm ready for 100 years of the show just like Rick Sanchez promised, and it seems like the team is committed to making that happen for the time being.
Rick and Morty Season 8 airs on Adult Swim on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET. Tune in for what, I believe, is the best season of the series yet, and it will get any fan excited for more episodes in the years to come.
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