Here’s How Much Of Rick And Morty Is Really Improvised

In Season 1 of “Rick and Morty,” when the episode “Rixty Minutes” saw Rick Sanchez introducing his grandson to interdimensional cable, the duo commented that the strange shows they were watching had “an almost improvisational tone.” The line was a sly wink to the fact that the snippets of TV shows from other dimensions seen in that episode were indeed improvised, as were many elements of “Rick and Morty” early on. While “Rick and Morty” once involved sizeable doses of improvised dialogue, things have changed.

When “Rick and Morty” began, the two title characters were voiced by series’ co-creator Justin Roiland. In 2023, Roiland was fired from the series in light of allegations of domestic abuse. Without Roiland’s involvement, two new voice actors, Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden, were cast as Rick and Morty, respectively. The casting of two actors who are not involved in the writing of the show has predictably changed the once fairly loose relationship between the performances and the scripts. In more recent seasons, less of the series is improvised than fans might think.

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Fans were already heavily invested in “Rick and Morty” when Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden took over the lead roles. Remaining true to the tone of the series that viewers had come to know and love was no mean feat, but one area where Cardoni and Belden did feel free to depart from tradition was the show’s tendency to include plenty of improvisation.

Speaking with CinemaBlend, Cardoni explained that the improvisational feel of the series is present in the writing. “I think by the time the scripts get in front of us, they’ve gone through so many iterations,” Cardoni said. “The writers really do an amazing job and they’ve got it in a place that they really feel really works for the show, and the improvisational sounding moments are often written in.” Cardoni also noted that he had “some creative license in terms of where burps are placed, and you know certain stammers and yells and things like that. The improv comes in the delivery in finding the motivation behind the words, but the writers are really kind of giving the core material. So there’s not much [improv].” 

In the interview, Belden revealed that the two actors “don’t record together, so we’re not, as I think a lot of people might think, bouncing off of each other.” He went on to reiterate his co-star’s sentiments, saying, “[T]he creative license comes in the delivery, and yeah, the stammering for Morty.”