Rick and Morty
Pilot
TV Flash files “Pilot” as a desk essential hour — Rick and Morty (2013–present) on Adult Swim, season 1, episode 1, aired 2013-12-02, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 91 in the Rick and Morty guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 2013-12-02 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Lawnmower Dog” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Pilot”. The pilot is drunk genius, anxious grandson, Adult Swim density — portal memes as industrial fandom from hour one.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Rick takes Morty to another dimension to get some seeds for him but Morty's parents are considering to put Rick in a retirement home for keeping Morty away from school to help him in his lab.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pilot sit in the Rick and Morty guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 91 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Rick and Morty S01E01 air?
Pilot aired 2013-12-02 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Why are there long waits between seasons?
Production complexity and schedule issues. The gaps are infamous; they are not a secret second show. Patience is part of the Adult Swim contract.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Drunk genius Rick drags anxious Morty across multiverses of cosmic jokes and trauma. Harmon and Roiland's Adult Swim series made Szechuan sauce, portal memes, and season-gap rage into industrial fandom. Dense sci-fi premises, dark humor, later recasting after Roiland's exit. Peak episodes are structurally dazzling — if you can stomach the meanness and the wait.
So about the sauce. Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's Adult Swim series premiered December 2, 2013, and the group chat never recovered: drunk genius Rick dragging anxious grandson Morty across multiverses of cosmic jokes and trauma, catchphrases as industrial fandom, Szechuan frenzy as a civic event nobody asked for. Dense sci-fi premises, dark humor, continuity as a toy and a weapon. Production gaps became their own rage cycle. (I said spoiler-free. The wait is the spoiler.) Lana can have the gown. **The timeline…
Filed against
- Justin Roiland as Rick Sanchez / Morty Smith (early)
Justin Roiland’s early Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith made Adult Swim a portal — drunk genius dragging anxious grandson across multiverses of cosmic jokes and trauma, Harmon and Roiland density, Szechuan sauce and season-gap rage as…
- Chris Parnell as Jerry Smith
Chris Parnell voices Jerry Smith on Rick and Morty — drunk genius Rick dragging anxious Morty across multiverses of cosmic jokes and trauma, Harmon and Roiland's Adult Swim density, Szechuan sauce, portal memes, season-gap rage. Later…
- Spencer Grammer as Summer Smith
Spencer Grammer voices Summer Smith on Rick and Morty — the granddaughter who has to live with a drunk genius dragging anxious Morty across multiverses of cosmic jokes and trauma. Adult Swim density, portal memes, family as collateral. TV…
- Sarah Chalke as Beth Smith
Sarah Chalke’s Elliot Reid sprinted Scrubs’ surreal hospital hallways — J.D.’s cutaways turning devastating mid-needle, found family in scrubs — then voiced Rick and Morty’s domestic-multiverse weather. Silly and sincere in the same dash;…