The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has upended television and movie production all across the globe, but the production of one fan-favorite TV series may have actually benefited from everyone being stuck at home.
While speaking virtually at PaleyFest NY 2020 (one of the biggest television festivals in America), Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon said the fifth season of the Cartoon Network series isn’t just on schedule, it’s “more on schedule” than ever.
Harmon went on to say that the pandemic forcing everyone to be at home allowed his team to focus more and work more consistently. Voice actor Tom Kenny echoed those sentiments, calling the pandemic extremely beneficial to the show’s production, adding that cartoons are “the only pandemic-proof area of the entertainment industry.”
If you’re not familiar with the series, it’s an adult animated sitcom that follows the adventures of Rick, a cynical scientist, and his grandson Morty as the rocket through normal life and inter-dimensional travel.
Since debuting in 2013, the show has become a pop culture phenomenon and won a pair of Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program. The show’s first four seasons are all available on Hulu if you want to catch up, with the fourth season just dropping at the beginning of this month.
So if things are “more on schedule” than ever before, does that mean we’ll be getting a taste of the new season earlier than expected? That’s not clear yet, as a solid release date hasn’t been set. But production being ahead of schedule for any TV show is always a good sign for fans, and a great signal we’ll see an earlier than anticipated release.
No matter how long the wait though, it’s welcome news for fans as it’s been more than two years since season 4 was released.