The golden age of television continues to roll forward, and challenging, unpredictable series like Rick and Morty have helped push the medium forward in important ways. Animation has always been a medium that’s ripe with innovation, but it’s especially impressive to see how programs like Rick and Morty find a balance between silly, emotional, and science fiction-fueled storytelling.

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Rick and Morty continues to receive praise, but its seasons come and go so quickly that it often feels like they’re over right after they begin. Fans will hopefully not have to wait too long for Rick and Morty’s sixth season of science fiction shenanigans, but in the meantime, there are still some satisfying alternatives to check out.

10 The Venture Bros. Is A Perfect Pastiche Of Comic Book, Superheroes, And Science Fiction

TV The Venture Bros Rusty With Jonas Jr Hologram

Many are willing to argue that The Venture Bros. was Rick and Morty before there even was a Rick and Morty. The humble Adult Swim program turned out seven powerful seasons that tell an increasingly complex and connected narrative. The Venture Bros. turns to radical science and sci-fi premises, just like Rick and Morty, but it’s more interested in failure, generational expectations, and the fine line that exists between hero and villain. The Venture Bros. was lampooning comics and superhero culture way before it was the norm.

9 Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole Turns To Mad Science For Even Madder Premises

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Another Adult Swim series, Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole comes from frequent Dan Harmon collaborator, Dino Stamatopoulos, and it often leans into the same inappropriate extremes as Rick and Morty. Frankenhole provides a satirical look at Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who develops a series of wormholes that can pull any historical figures out of time. These iconic individuals often get dressed down in modern ways, but the series’ use of unpredictable mad science and frequent left turns quickly brings Rick and Morty to mind. Frankenhole’s unique papercraft art style also just stands out on a visual level, too.

8 Solar Opposites Applies An Even More Alien Aesthetic To Rick And Morty’s Style

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Solar Opposites shouldn’t feel that far removed from Rick and Morty since it’s created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, two of the Adult Swim series’ most important creative voices.

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Solar Opposites often engages in fantastical premises that are more ridiculous than what Rick and Morty looks at due to how the central characters are a family of aliens who try to make the most of their time on Earth. Solar Opposites brilliantly deconstructs classic sitcoms and fish out of water stories, but it always arrives somewhere unexpected and the comedy is just as sharp as in Rick and Morty.

7 Futurama Is Both A Science Fiction And Comedy Masterpiece

TV Futurama Opening Credits Tube

There seems to be limitless freedom with Rick and Morty since the series can easily escape to space and travel to radically different universes. Futurama operates with a very comparable energy due to its 30th century setting that finds endless ammunition for its clever commentary on the future. Futurama is the rare example of a sci-fi show that’s actually smart and prides itself in the theories that it breaks down in addition to its heightened comedy and superlative character development. Futurama also knows when to indulge in more dramatic storytelling, just like Rick and Morty.

6 Hot Streets Poaches Rick And Morty Minds For Absurdist Cop Drama

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Hot Streets only lasted for two seasons on Adult Swim, but it accomplished an incredible amount in that brief time, making it still worth checking out. Hot Streets follows a special supernatural department of the FBI that handles the more unusual cases that plague the public. It’s not that revolutionary of a premise, but Hot Streets comes from another Rick and Morty scribe, Brian Wysol, and he makes sure that every episode is packed with comical nonsense. The characters in Hot Streets are sufficiently nuts, and Justin Roiland’s work as Chubbie Webbers perfectly toes the line between hilarious and obnoxious.

5 Final Space Embraces Serialization With A Story That Spans The Galaxy

TV The Final Space Squad

Final Space is perhaps the show that Rick and Morty would become if Morty permanently removed himself from his grandfather’s orbit and took to a life of intergalactic adventures. Final Space has a diverse cast of broad characters, but it’s a surprisingly earnest look into responsibility, redemption, and independence.

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Unfortunately, Final Space was recently canceled after its third season, which was arguably its strongest. However, that shouldn’t keep audiences from giving this mature, emotional animated series a fair chance. Those who love space travel, mysterious voyages, and revelatory character development will not be disappointed.

4 The Midnight Gospel Is A Visual Extravaganza That Isn’t Afraid To Ask The Heavy Questions

Television Midnight Gospel

Duncan Trussell’s The Midnight Gospel is one of the most gorgeous looking animated series on Netflix. The series cleverly finds a way to combine Trussell’s existential and contemplative podcast with eye-popping visuals and animated sequences. Each episode sends Clancy, a “spacecaster,” to a new world to discuss a different tenet of existence. At their surface levels, The Midnight Gospel and Rick and Morty don’t exactly feel like twins, but the staggering discussions that come up in Midnight Gospel could easily fill some of Rick’s darker monologues. Both shows feel unpredictable and free in similar ways, too.

3 Samurai Jack’s Embrace Of Genre And Structure Is Very Akin To Rick And Morty

Animated Samurai Jack Future Wasteland Skulls

Genndy Tartakovsky is a true innovator in the field of animation. His current animates series, Primal, is a masterpiece of visual storytelling, but it’s the inspired work of Samurai Jack that helped put Tartakovsky on the map. Admittedly, Samurai Jack follows action archetypes in place of science fiction, but there’s still a fantastical energy that runs through Jack’s adventures. Samurai Jack is at its best when it engages in different genre pastiches, like film noir or horror. In this sense, the series prioritizes style and structure, just like how Rick and Morty does with some of its bolder premises.

2 BoJack Horseman Trades Portals And Science For Fame And Celebrity

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Many of the series looked at here are a part of the science fiction genre or at least are able to deconstruct structure in bold ways. BoJack Horseman is set in a world of anthropomorphic animals and follows the self-destructive impulses of BoJack Horseman, a former sitcom star who wants another shot at fame and relevancy. BoJack tells a set of stories that are completely different than Rick and Morty, but they’re alike in terms of how they both don’t shy away from the tragic state of reality and the flawed nature of humanity. They can both be very heavy watches.

1 Star Trek: Lower Decks Explores Rick And Morty Minutiae In An Established World

Star Trek: Lower Decks "The Spy Humongous"

Anyone who’s a passing fan of Star Trek is likely to appreciate Rick and Morty because of its planet-hopping sensibilities and how it can sometimes directly lampoon subject matter from the long-running science-fiction franchise. Star Trek: Lower Decks is the perfect hybrid of these two series, and it immerses itself in Gene Roddenberry’s rich universe, yet with a deeply comedic angle that focuses on the lower-tier workers who routinely get ignored in the “proper” Star Trek series. Lower Decks also comes from Mike McMahan, Rick and Morty’s former showrunner, and that influence is certainly felt.

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