Some Rick and Morty fans have a history of losing their shit whenever their beloved show makes the news. The latest public meltdown comes after co-creator Dan Harmon tweeted that the cartoon had not been renewed for a fourth season by Adult Swim/Cartoon Network.
The news-dominating tweet was sent in response to a rude fan that was pestering Harmon about writing Season 4, sending devoted followers of the series into an online frenzy.
Some fans have even gone so far as to sign a petition asking the networks to renew the show for a fourth season. At the time of writing, the petition, which can be seen here, has reached 3,849 signatures, meaning it's closing in on its goal of 4,000.
It reads: “This petition was made to show the support of the show and to let Cartoon Network know they will be loosing a lot of viewers. We did it for the sauce now let's do it for the show.”
The online reactions, some of which we’ve compiled for you below, reminded us strongly of Szechuan-Gate.
Last year, the show’s fans embarrassed themselves when some exhibited inexcusable behavior after McDonald’s ran out of its limited edition Szechuan Sauce. The sauce had been brought back for one day only after Rick and Morty popularized it in the season three series debut. Initially, it was released as a promotional tool for the Mulan movie back in the '90s.
Groups of fans were seen protesting outside McDonald’s franchises that had run out of the sauce, while others verbally abused staff when they realized they had lined up for hours only to leave empty-handed.
McDonald’s soon announced it would be rolling out a wider release of the Szechuan sauce, making those that freaked out and others that paid exorbitant amounts of money for the sauce look more than a little silly.
The exact same thing could be happening again.
Nothing in Harmon’s tweet (below) suggests that the show has been canceled, only that season four has not been ordered... yet.
Those familiar with Adult Swim will know that the network is never in any rush to push out new seasons of its best shows. There was an 18-month hiatus between seasons two and three, so an extended period between season three and four would not be anything out of the ordinary.
Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. is another highly popular show that has made fans wait up to two-and-a-half years between seasons in the past.
In addition to the network’s highly irregular airing dates, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise to devoted fans after show writer Ryan Ridley alluded to exactly what Harmon had tweeted two months prior.
Speaking in an interview with The Detroit Cast radio station, Ridley said: “I know how long this show takes to write, let alone animate. I’d be surprised if there was a fourth season on the air anytime sooner than 2019… late 2019.”
Ridley continued by lamenting, “I never understood why everybody—all parties, Dan, Justin, and Adult Swim—didn’t get their shit together, and make the show fast.”
So, when taking Adult Swim’s propensity to drag their feet, Ridley’s comments from January, and the fact that Harmon’s tweet was in response to a “fan” that called him a “lazy alcoholic,” there is enough circumstantial evidence to conclude that season four is most likely happening, albeit not anytime soon.
Rick and Morty is one of Adult Swim’s biggest hits right now and it wouldn’t make any business sense to cut off its rabid fanbase at the peak of the show’s existence.
The most likely scenario is that Rick and Morty is renewed for season 4 at some point in the future and work will slowly start on writing and animating. Ridley’s timeline of a mid to late 2019 premiere is perfectly in line with this theory.
Scroll through the rest of the reactions below and then let us know your thoughts on the whole thing in the comments.
Do you think Rick and Morty will be back for season 4? Do you even care?
Next, check out this character breakdown that explains the sad genius that is Rick here.
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