RICK AND MORTY Season 8 Showrunner on How the Series Is Shaped by Pure Creative Chaos

That balance between completely awesome absurdity and deeper narrative threads in Adult Swims Rick and Morty is part of the show’s design philosophy. And according to showrunner Scott Marder, it often starts with one undeniable spark… an idea too good to ignore.

Marder, who’s been steering the animated sci-fi juggernaut alongside co-creator Dan Harmon, recently shared some insight into how the sausage gets made over at Rick and Morty HQ.

While they try to shape each season with both episodic standalones and serialized arcs in mind, sometimes a single pitch kicks the door down and demands its place. Marder says:

“There’s just no ignoring that we could be starting off a day trying to tackle something, and then someone will throw out an idea that is so inescapable, and it’ll excite Dan [Harmon], and it’ll excite me so much that we don’t even need to articulate that we’re moving on to this for now, because it is sparking so much joy.”

That spontaneous, chaotic energy is something the Rick and Morty writers’ room embraces and they should. Some ideas simply hijack the day—and ultimately shape where the show goes. Marder continued:

“You didn’t come in on a Tuesday expecting to hear it, and you can’t unhear it once you’ve heard it, and suddenly that’s episode eight.

“They all just sort of assemble, and then we find a method to the madness and a shape to a season that makes it feel like we broke it in the order that you’re seeing it in, but it’s really just finding the things that we find most attractive and most compelling and get the most sort of excitement going in a room on any given moment.”

It’s that mix of instinct and improvisation that keeps Rick and Morty feeling fresh even as it heads into its eighth season, which premieres Sunday, May 25, 2025. Fans can expect the usual mix of high-concept weirdness and character-driven chaos.