Rick and Morty follows Rick Sanchez, an alcoholic genius who can travel anywhere in the multiverse, and his anxious grandson Morty, who gets dragged along for the ride. Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created it, and it premiered on Adult Swim in December 2013. It began as a crude parody of Back to the Future and grew into one of the most talked-about animated shows of its decade, pairing science-fiction ideas with very dark jokes about family.
Rick and Morty's adventures can go anywhere, but the cast always comes back to the Smith household. This guide covers the family first, then Rick's friends and enemies, the Citadel of Ricks, and the one-episode creations that became memes. The voice cast section explains the 2023 recast of the two leads.
- Creators
- Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland
- Network
- Adult Swim
- Premiere
- December 2013
- Genre
- Adult animated science-fiction comedy
- Spin-off
- Rick and Morty: The Anime (2024)
The Smith family
Rick moves in with his daughter Beth's family at the start of the series. Almost every story is, in the end, about what that does to them.
Rick Sanchez
Scientist · Morty's grandfather
Rick is possibly the smartest being in the multiverse, and he knows it. He's selfish, burping, drunk and contemptuous of nearly everything, and he uses that contempt to keep everyone at arm's length. The series gradually reveals that his nihilism sits on top of grief: in his original timeline, another Rick killed his wife and daughter. His attachment to Morty and Beth is the thing he works hardest to hide.
- Voice
- Justin Roiland (seasons 1–6), Ian Cardoni (season 7 on)
Morty Smith
Rick's grandson · Age 14
Morty is nervous, kind and easily overwhelmed. Rick takes him along partly because his ordinary brainwaves help hide Rick's own. Over the seasons Morty sees, and does, terrible things, and he becomes harder and more willing to stand up to his grandfather. He has a hopeless crush on his classmate Jessica.
- Voice
- Justin Roiland (seasons 1–6), Harry Belden (season 7 on)
Summer Smith
Morty's older sister · Age 17
Summer starts as a phone-obsessed teenager on the edge of the story. She becomes one of its most capable characters: she's quick, ruthless when she needs to be, and often a better fit for Rick's adventures than Morty. Her bond with Rick is less fraught than her brother's because she simply expects less of him.
- Voice
- Spencer Grammer
Beth Smith
Rick's daughter · Horse surgeon
Beth is a brilliant, insecure horse surgeon who never stopped wanting her father's approval. She's Rick's mirror: as clever and controlling as he is, and just as good at hiding pain under a glass of wine. Her arc is about deciding whether she wants to be like him.
- Voice
- Sarah Chalke
Jerry Smith
Beth's husband · Unemployed father
Jerry is needy, unemployed and spectacularly mediocre. Rick despises him and Jerry knows it. He's the butt of countless jokes, but the show keeps finding sympathy for him. He loves his family without any interest in being impressive, and he sometimes stumbles into surprising luck. He and Beth separate in season 3 and reunite by its end.
- Voice
- Chris Parnell
Space Beth
Beth's possible clone
An intergalactic freedom fighter who may or may not be the original Beth. She's introduced in the season 4 finale.
Rick's friends and allies
Birdperson
Rick's oldest friend
Birdperson is a solemn, formally spoken warrior who fought beside Rick in an old rebellion. His wedding to Tammy at the end of season 2 turns into a massacre. He's later rebuilt as the cyborg Phoenixperson, and Rick finally rescues his mind in season 5. Their friendship is the clearest look at who Rick was before he gave up.
- Voice
- Dan Harmon
Squanchy
Old friend of Rick's
Squanchy is a cat-like party animal from Rick's rebel days whose favourite word, "squanch," can mean almost anything. He's mostly a comic presence, but he's also part of the found-family Rick abandoned.
Mr. Poopybutthole
Family friend (supposedly)
Mr. Poopybutthole is a cheerful, top-hatted friend introduced in season 2's "Total Rickall," an episode about memory-implanting parasites that pose as old friends. His fate in that episode is one of the show's best twists. He reappears in the post-credits scenes of later seasons, where his life quietly falls apart.
Unity
Hive mind · Rick's ex
Unity is a collective consciousness that assimilates whole planets, and she has a history with Rick. Their reunion in season 2 shows two beings who bring out the worst in each other. Her decision to leave pushes Rick to one of his lowest moments.
- Voice
- Christina Hendricks
Noob-Noob
Vindicators janitor
A humble janitor whom Rick, of all people, actually respects.
Snowball
Super-intelligent dog
The family dog, given intelligence by a Rick gadget. He promptly leads a canine uprising against humanity.
Villains and rivals
Evil Morty
The Morty who said no
Evil Morty first appears as a mystery in season 1. He resurfaces in season 3 to win the presidency of the Citadel of Ricks, and in the season 5 finale he uses that power to escape the Central Finite Curve, the walled-off part of the multiverse where Rick is the smartest being. He's the show's sharpest critique of Rick: a Morty who refused to be anyone's sidekick. His ultimate goals are deliberately left open.
Rick Prime
The Rick who killed Rick's family
Rick Prime is the version of Rick who murdered the main Rick's wife Diane and daughter Beth after Rick turned down Prime's offer of portal travel to stay with his family. Finding him is the grudge that defines Rick's private life, and the show finally brings the two into direct conflict in season 7.
Tammy Gueterman
Summer's friend · Federation agent
Tammy seems like an ordinary high-school friend of Summer's until her wedding to Birdperson. There she's revealed as a deep-cover agent of the Galactic Federation and turns the ceremony into an ambush. It's one of the show's most shocking reveals.
- Voice
- Cassie Steele
Mr. Nimbus
Lord of the sea
Mr. Nimbus is a sea-lord parody of Marvel's Namor who rules the ocean. He's one of Rick's oldest nemeses, and their rivalry is much more evenly matched than Rick would like.
The Council of Ricks
Rulers of the Citadel
A governing body of Ricks who tried to police the multiverse and regarded "our" Rick as a dangerous outlaw.
The President
President of the United States
A proud, competitive president who keeps calling on Rick for help and then trying to beat him.
- Voice
- Keith David
One-episode fan favourites
A lot of Rick and Morty's most quoted characters appear in a single episode. Many of them became memes before the next season aired.
Mr. Meeseeks
Single-task beings
Blue helpers summoned from a box to do one thing and then vanish. Given an impossible job, they multiply and descend into panic, which makes for one of the show's most beloved episodes.
Pickle Rick
Rick, as a pickle
Rick turns himself into a pickle to avoid family therapy. The episode ends with a therapist taking the whole family apart.
Scary Terry
Dream monster
A Freddy Krueger parody with a limited vocabulary and a surprisingly ordinary home life.
Krombopulos Michael
Cheerful assassin
An alien hitman who loves killing and buys his weapons from Rick, with very bad results.
Abradolf Lincler
Failed experiment
Rick's attempt to create a morally neutral leader by mixing Lincoln and Hitler DNA, which leaves the creature at war with itself.
Cromulons
Giant floating heads
Planet-sized heads who demand that Earth "show me what you got" in an interstellar talent contest.
Mr. Goldenfold
Morty's maths teacher
A put-upon teacher repeatedly caught in the family's sci-fi messes.
Rick and Morty voice cast
Justin Roiland voiced both title characters for six seasons. After domestic violence charges against him became public (they were later dropped), Adult Swim ended its relationship with him in January 2023. Season 7 introduced new actors for Rick and Morty, cast to sound close to the originals.
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Rick Sanchez | Ian Cardoni (season 7 on); Justin Roiland (seasons 1–6) |
| Morty Smith | Harry Belden (season 7 on); Justin Roiland (seasons 1–6) |
| Summer Smith | Spencer Grammer |
| Beth Smith | Sarah Chalke |
| Jerry Smith | Chris Parnell |
| Birdperson | Dan Harmon |
| Unity | Christina Hendricks |
| Tammy Gueterman | Cassie Steele |
| The President | Keith David |
Chris Parnell is also known from Saturday Night Live and Archer, and Sarah Chalke from Scrubs. Our voice actors guide has more on animation's regular performers.
What the characters are about
Under the portal guns, Rick and Morty is a family drama about a parent who can't stop hurting the people he loves. Each Smith takes a different position on Rick:
- Morty idolises him, then resents him, then slowly learns to say no.
- Beth wants him to stay, and risks turning into him.
- Summer takes him as he is, which makes her the most comfortable with him.
- Jerry is everything Rick looks down on, and he's often the most emotionally honest person in the house.
- Evil Morty is what happens when a Morty rejects Rick completely.
Rick fits our anti-hero guide almost perfectly: brilliant, magnetic and deeply unpleasant, with a buried wound that explains him without excusing him. If you enjoy that blend of strange worlds and family emotion, Gravity Falls does something similar for a younger audience, and Hazbin Hotel and South Park are other adult picks. The cartoon hub lists every animated series we cover.
Where to start
Most episodes are self-contained, but a handful carry the long story about Evil Morty, the Citadel and Rick's past. If you want the main arc, prioritise the season finales and the episodes centred on the Citadel. Otherwise, start at season 1. The show finds its voice by about the halfway point of that season, with the Meeseeks episode and the "Rixty Minutes" interdimensional cable episode. It's an adult show, with heavy violence, swearing and bleak humour.
All Rick and Morty character names A–Z
A–B
- Abradolf Lincler — Experiment
- Beth Smith — Smiths
- Birdperson — Ally
C–G
- Council of Ricks — Citadel
- Cromulons — Aliens
- Diane Sanchez — Rick's late wife
- Evil Morty — Villain
J–K
- Jerry Smith — Smiths
- Jessica — Morty's crush
- Krombopulos Michael — Assassin
M–N
- Morty Smith — Smiths
- Mr. Goldenfold — Teacher
- Mr. Meeseeks — Task beings
- Mr. Nimbus — Villain
- Mr. Poopybutthole — Friend
- Noob-Noob — Janitor
P–R
- Phoenixperson — Birdperson rebuilt
- Pickle Rick — Rick
- Rick Prime — Villain
- Rick Sanchez — Smiths
S–U
- Scary Terry — Dream monster
- Snowball — Dog
- Space Beth — Smiths
- Squanchy — Ally
- Summer Smith — Smiths
- Tammy Gueterman — Villain
- The President — Earth
- Unity — Hive mind
Frequently asked questions
Who voices Rick and Morty now?
Since season 7 (2023), Rick is voiced by Ian Cardoni and Morty by Harry Belden. Co-creator Justin Roiland voiced both characters for the first six seasons before Adult Swim cut ties with him in January 2023.
Who is Evil Morty?
Evil Morty is a Morty from another dimension who rejects the idea that Mortys exist only to serve Ricks. He takes power at the Citadel of Ricks in season 3 and, in the season 5 finale, uses it to escape the Ricks' multiverse altogether. He's the show's most significant recurring antagonist.
How old are Rick and Morty?
Morty is 14 and Summer is 17. Rick's exact age isn't settled on screen; he's generally described as being around 70.
Is the Beth in the show a clone?
The show deliberately leaves it open. In the season 4 finale, Rick may have cloned Beth years earlier, and both Beths survive: one stays home and the other, "Space Beth," becomes a rebel fighter. Neither Rick nor the audience knows which is the original.
What does Mr. Meeseeks do?
A Mr. Meeseeks is a blue being summoned by pressing a button on a Meeseeks Box. It exists to complete one task and then vanish, and staying alive for long is agony for it. Their famous debut has the Smiths summoning them for small requests, including improving Jerry's golf swing, which goes very badly.
Who is Rick Prime?
Rick Prime is the version of Rick who killed the main Rick's wife Diane and daughter Beth in his original timeline. Hunting him down is the private grudge behind much of Rick's behaviour, and the show finally brings the two face to face in season 7.