Justin Roiland looking at 7 years in prison for domestic violence.

[Jayson1]

I think they should just cancel the show and move forward with a spin-off. If the new voices don't work and the characters don't feel right anymore your basically just tarnishing the brand and then maybe you don't even have a spin-off to go with. You don't want to be one of those shows like "House of Cards" where you try and make it work when you loose maybe the most important person in the show because of his real life bad behavior. I recall people at the time also talking about how loosing Kevin Spacey would be fine. The show would still be fine.

 

[Sci]

I think they should just cancel the show and move forward with a spin-off. If the new voices don't work and the characters don't feel right anymore your basically just tarnishing the brand and then maybe you don't even have a spin-off to go with. You don't want to be one of those shows like "House of Cards" where you try and make it work when you loose maybe the most important person in the show because of his real life bad behavior. I recall people at the time also talking about how loosing Kevin Spacey would be fine. The show would still be fine.

Better idea: Hire good actors able to replicate the voices of Rick and Morty and then continue making the same show they've been making.

 

[The Wormhole]

I think they should just cancel the show and move forward with a spin-off.

The show has been contracted for seven seasons, and given how animation works, it's likely the seventh season has already been written and has started the animation work. We're getting a seventh season, that's definite. At this point, it would probably cost more to back out of that than it would to keep going.

After the seventh season, I'd say it's more likely the show will end than continue.

 

[JD]

Possibly, but more just if it does, I doubt it will have anything to do with the loss of Roiland, since the show has been going strong without his writing for years, and there is no reason the roles couldn't be recast. And really in the long run, recasting wouldn't be that hard since there's nothing about the roles that only he can do.

 

[Jayson1]

I know they have other writers but I doubt his influence is just him showing up and reading his lines and going home. I mean he created the show. He must have input into what direction they want to go and knowing the characters well enough to know what they would or wouldn't do.

 

[Tosk]

You're free to doubt it, we only have the word of others to go on.
A show creator being reduced to literally only doing a voice is not new though. That's exactly what happened with Larry David on Seinfeld.

 

[JD]

Isn't that pretty much where Seth McFarlane is with Family Guy and American Dad?

 

[Jayson1]

Has it ever been talked about in public how much of a role Roiland still has on the show? The McFarlane stuff has become pretty common knowledge at this point. While we know Rick and Morty have had new writers who do more writing than what was done in the past as it been fully established that he has all but divorced himself from the show, except for the voice acting?

 

[The Wormhole]

Has it ever been talked about in public how much of a role Roiland still has on the show? The McFarlane stuff has become pretty common knowledge at this point. While we know Rick and Morty have had new writers who do more writing than what was done in the past as it been fully established that he has all but divorced himself from the show, except for the voice acting?

Yes, one need only pay attention to the show's credits and see that aside from the co-creator credit, he has no other listing in the credits other than acting and hasn't since the third season. If he still had authority and influence over the show and could dictate its direction or whatever, he'd be listed as an Executive Producer or Consultant. He is neither. He's just a voice actor in recent years.

 

[the G-man]

I was thinking of Roiland today with the news about Jonathan Majors. I think Majors deserves the benefit of the doubt at this point but it could be interesting to see how that situation plays out compared to this one.

 

[Jayson1]

I mean legally they both deserve the benefit of the doubt but it's hard not to form opinions. From I heard I think Majors looks pretty guilty. Just like I think Roiland is guilty.

I think they even have visual evidence, like marks around her neck to prove it. They even had to take her to the hospital.

 

[the G-man]

I mean legally they both deserve the benefit of the doubt but it's hard not to form opinions. From I heard I think Majors looks pretty guilty. Just like I think Roiland is guilty.

I think they even have visual evidence, like marks around her neck to prove it. They even had to take her to the hospital.

Putting aside the existence of (possible) physical evidence, DV complainants are routinely taken to the hospital as a precautionary medical measure.

 

[JD]

One of the stories I read about Majors included a Tweet from before the story broke about how a big up and coming star was an aggressive and violent person, and when someone made a comment how now we know who they were talking about after the story came out, they confirmed it was him. So it sounds like there's a decent chance he's a pretty horrible person.

 

[Tuskin38]

Isn't that pretty much where Seth McFarlane is with Family Guy and American Dad?

Yes. Seth said once in an interview he hasn't actually been to a meeting or the Family Guy office since 2010 (though this interview was like 5-6 years ago). He just goes to the recording studio, and does the lines and leaves.

 

[Sci]

I know they have other writers but I doubt his influence is just him showing up and reading his lines and going home.

You're right -- his influence was not just showing up and reading his lines and going home, because all the interviews staff have done since his arrest indicate that Roiland was not showing up to read his lines. He was recording them from home. He didn't even bother going in to perform.

Has it ever been talked about in public how much of a role Roiland still has on the show?

Yes. In a bunch of interviews done in the wake of his firing, staffers have been very explicit that he does not contribute anything to the show anymore except voice performance. Why do you ask if things that have been firmly established that have been firmly established?

I was thinking of Roiland today with the news about Jonathan Majors. I think Majors deserves the benefit of the doubt at this point but it could be interesting to see how that situation plays out compared to this one.

Multiple people are coming out of the woodwork saying that Majors is an abuser, so I'm not gonna hold my breath.

 

[The Wormhole]

all the interviews staff have done since his arrest indicate that Roiland was not showing up to read his lines. He was recording them from home. He didn't even bother going in to perform.

Although, I suspect during the fourth and fifth seasons a majority of the cast were probably recording their lines from home. You know, because of that thing that was going on in the world three years ago that only really began letting up last year.

 

[Jayson1]

So who was making all the big creative choices then? Also what impact did COVID have on any of this?

 

[Sci]

Although, I suspect during the fourth and fifth seasons a majority of the cast were probably recording their lines from home. You know, because of that thing that was going on in the world three years ago that only really began letting up last year.

The interviews seemed to imply that he was both doing it before COVID and after people started returning to studios.

So who was making all the big creative choices then?

Dan Harmon. Seriously -- why did you not read any of the numerous articles that already addressed these basic questions before posting?

 

[Jayson1]

I was under the impression Harmon had also been busy doing other stuff. I know he was going to take over again but I thought that was about him refocusing his efforts more on the show again.

 

[Sci]

I was under the impression Harmon had also been busy doing other stuff. I know he was going to take over again but I thought that was about him refocusing his efforts more on the show again.

Nope. Rick & Morty has been his main focus for years now.