Rick and Morty Season 9 Premiere Date: Everything You Need to Know Before May 24

By Sophia Carter · May 20, 2026

Rick and Morty Season 9 premieres Saturday, May 24, 2026 at 11 PM EST on Adult Swim, kicking off a 10-episode run with new episodes every Saturday through July 26. Streaming arrives on HBO Max and Hulu starting June 15. This is the first season produced entirely without Bardel Entertainment and continues the post-Justin Roiland era under showrunner Dan Harmon. Expect weekly chaos on your screens for the next two months.

Why This Season Marks a Genuine Turning Point for the Show

I'll be honest with you: Rick and Morty has been in an identity crisis. When Adult Swim fired Justin Roiland in January 2023 over domestic violence charges, it wasn't just a personnel change — it was an existential rupture. The co-creator who voiced both title characters gone, just like that. Season 7 proved the show could survive without him. Season 8 proved it could still be funny. But Season 9 is the one that will determine whether Rick and Morty can actually thrive in its new form.

The difference this time around isn't just creative. The Rick and Morty Season 9 premiere date lands at a moment when Adult Swim's entire lineup is in transition, and the network desperately needs its flagship to perform. Ten episodes instead of the usual batch ordering gives the writers room to build a proper arc rather than scrambling to fill an oversized season. That's a structural advantage the show hasn't had since its early years, and from what I've seen in the trailers, the team knows it.

The Bardel Entertainment Break Changes More Than You'd Think

Here's something that hasn't gotten enough attention: Season 9 is the first Rick and Morty season with zero involvement from Bardel Entertainment. For those who don't follow animation production, Bardel was the Vancouver-based studio that animated this show from the very first episode. They defined the visual language — the fluid portal effects, the grotesque alien designs, the way Rick's drool catches the light. All of that came from Bardel's team.

I watched the Season 9 trailer frame by frame, and the differences are subtle but real. The character movements feel slightly more elastic, the background detail is denser, and there's a crispness to the color grading that reads more digital than Bardel's slightly warmer palette. Whether this lands as an upgrade or a distraction will depend entirely on your attachment to the original look. Personally, I think change is good for a show that's been running this long. Animation stagnation kills creativity faster than anything else in this medium.

The Weekly Release Strategy Is the Right Call

Adult Swim is sticking with weekly Saturday night releases, and I'm genuinely relieved. The binge model that streaming platforms love would have been a disaster for Rick and Morty. This show thrives on community reaction — the theories, the Easter egg hunts, the frame-by-frame Reddit analyses that pop up within hours of each episode airing. Drop all ten episodes at once and you lose that entirely.

The streaming window opening on June 15 — three weeks after the Adult Swim premiere — is a smart compromise. It gives cable viewers their exclusivity window while ensuring HBO Max and Hulu subscribers aren't waiting until the entire season wraps. If you're a cord-cutter, you'll be able to binge the first three episodes on June 15 and then follow along weekly from there. Not a bad deal.

Dan Harmon's Vision Without Roiland Is Sharper Than Expected

I was skeptical. Genuinely skeptical. Dan Harmon is brilliant, but so much of what made early Rick and Morty special felt like the friction between Harmon's structured storytelling and Roiland's chaotic improvisation. Remove one half of that equation and you risk getting something that's technically competent but emotionally flat. Seasons 7 and 8 proved my fears were only partly justified — the improv energy dipped, but the plotting got tighter and the emotional beats hit harder.

Season 9 looks like it pushes even further in that direction. The promotional material hints at a season-long arc involving the Citadel of Ricks in a way the show hasn't attempted since the iconic "Ricklantis Mixup" episode. Harmon has described the season as "the most narratively ambitious thing we've done," which could mean anything from a serialized masterpiece to an overwrought mess. I'm cautiously optimistic. The new voice actors have fully settled into the roles, and the writing staff has had three full seasons to find their rhythm without Roiland's input.

Should You Actually Be Excited? My Honest Take

I've been covering animated shows for years, and Rick and Morty occupies a strange position in the landscape right now. It's still one of the most popular animated series on television, but the cultural conversation around it has shifted. The toxic fandom moments — the Szechuan sauce riots, the harassment campaigns against female writers — have faded, replaced by a quieter, more mature audience that just wants good science fiction comedy. That's actually a healthier place for the show to be.

My honest assessment: if you bounced off Seasons 7 or 8, give Season 9 a shot anyway. The animation overhaul alone makes it worth a fresh look, and ten tight episodes feels like the right size for a show that's historically struggled with filler. If you've been riding along since the beginning, you already know you're tuning in Saturday night. Set your alarms for 11 PM EST on May 24 and let the multiverse do its thing.