It is well established that we are Rick and Morty fans here at Beacon of Speech. What we aren't fans of is the constant hand wringing by the creators about how hard it is making new Rick and Mortys.
Way, way back in 2016, the co-creator of Parks and Recreation, Michael Schur rolled out with his new creation The Good Place. The Good Place was beloved, had positive messages, and...tanked in the ratings. NBC BEGGED you to watch their revolutionary comedy, but in an era when kids aren't watching network TV, The Good Place barely cracked the top 100 shows on one of the lifeless, dying networks.
[adult swim], on the other hand, is probably the best place in America for experimental broadcasting. They are awesome at giving creators opportunities, not so great at nurturing their products once they hit the air.
Rick and Morty's business model doesn't necessarily rely on ratings the way The Good Place did. Rick and Morty can sell ads on the adult swim website and can make hundreds of millions the way the band KISS did, by moving mountains of merchandise. You know the KISS business model: Be awesome for a few years, sell merchandise for decades.....
What's my point? By season 4, The Good Place had painted itself into a corner. It had nowhere to go and decided to actually place a rare THE END sign at the end of the last episode.
With a long term commitment from adult swim, RIck and Morty's Season 5 ending closed many doors, but left a few open to further explore "canon." Almost 8 years into its run, Rick complaining about canon shows how the creators are loathe to reveal canon.
---SPOILERS AHEAD---
Listen, I don't care about the backstory, just make great adventures now. After their most uneven season to date, Rick and Morty is now treading into X-Files territory where there's a distinct difference between the shows that are episodic and the shows that are a continuation. So let me be the jerk and spoil short term surprises for the next 2 seasons. The big reveal in either sesaon 6 or 7 is that Diane Sanchez is alive. If in C-137's universe, both Beth and Diane were killed, then Rick popped up in a universe where Beth was still alive, math says it is probable that Diane is still alive, also.
And, going back to the Season 5 Finale, where would Diane go if she wanted to hide from Ricks? The same place Evil Morty is going to hide from Ricks.
Why the vitriol?
As of today, number of Good Place episodes? 53 in 4 years.
Rick and Morty episodes? 51 in 8 years.
When Season 7 finally rolls out in the Spring of 2024 or so, Rick and Morty will be in danger of being the animated version of the X Files, answering questions no one cares about anymore.
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