Top animated TV series: When is a new season of Rick and Morty back? Here are some epic animated shows to fill the void
Looks like it's almost time fans of Rick and Morty are about to hit the panic button. It has been close to six months after the last season of Adult Swim's hit animated series wrapped up on TV and since then there has been no solid information about the return of the demented inventor Rick Sanchez and his school-going grandson, Morty.
Except for an occasional April Fool's Day special feature, Bushworld Adventures - a 10-minute long video that charted the duo's journey to Australia - Rick and Morty has left fans high and dry, waiting for the much-anticipated fourth season.
In fact, series creator Dan Harmon's ominous tweet hasn't been much of a comfort either. Taking to social media, sometime in mid-March, Harmon with his brand of self-deprecating humor made an announcement that further clouds the possibilities of the show's return.
"I hear ya, tough spot," the adult-animated series creator tweeted, adding to fan's woes. "On one hand, it can be challenging, especially with crippling lazy alcoholism, to write a show that hasn’t been ordered by a network. On the other hand, the thought that fans like you pay the price...I mean...I’m gonna grab a drink."
Given the circumstances - the ongoing contract negotiations and so on - I won't bet high on tuning back to Adult Swim any time soon... 2019 perhaps could be a different scene.
In the meantime, like most fans, if you too are suffering from a Rick and Morty withdrawal, here's a quick fix: some other terrific animated series that might fill in the void and who knows may even make it to your must-watch-TV-binge-list.
Futurama
If time-spanning, intergalactic conspiracies is your cup of tea, then this classic series centered around 31st century New York is just the right one to fill in that large Rick and Morty-shaped hole.
Unlike the incredibly adult content and dark humor of the Adult Swim series, however, Futurama follows a lighter and more sitcom-style pattern, featuring the pizza guy Philip J. Fry, his buddy Bender, and love interest Leela and their eccentric travels.
The show was co-created by Matt Groening, the partial brain behind iconic series The Simpsons, and was on the air from 1999 to 2013. Despite Futurama's official end on TV almost five years back, it remains a classic and thankfully not difficult to live stream online.
Archer
The good news is Archer's penultimate season premiere is just a month away - the immensely popular FXX show, bordering dangerously on the edges of a vulgar crackle will be back on TV on April 25. Indeed this means that the Adam Reed-created animated sitcom is close to wrapping up its TV run in a matter of few years, but on the brighter note, it's just the right time for fans to catch up with the action.
In season 9, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and co-pilot Pam (Amber Nash) will be embarking on a survival mission on the island of Mitimotu.
BoJack Horseman
Since its premiere in 2014, BoJack Horseman has graced the screen for fours successful seasons, each time delivering a seamless blend of comedy and drama. What lack in terms of outright, in-your-face punchlines, is, however, compensated with the show's tactful handling of topical subjects that range from controversial issues to real-life problems.
At the end of the day, Bojack (voiced by Will Arnett) is just a talking horse, who was once the star of Hollywood... but now barely scraping through his 50s, mostly wasted in his LA pad.
Family Guy
Not for no reason does Fox's hit animated saga, the long-running and Emmy-award winning, Family Guy hold a special place in fans' heart. Currently, in its sixteenth season, the show created by Seth MacFarlane continues to be a comic staple with its dose of extremely relatable characters, mundane and at the same time savage day to day portrayals, and who can forget the talking dog, Brian.
Airing Sundays at 9 pm Est, fans of animated series can catch up with all the drama of the Griffin household on the official website of Fox.
Adventure Time
There can't be a better time than now for an initiation into the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where Finn and his best friend-cum-adoptive-brother Jake, a magical dog who can change shape and size, continue with their march "righting wrongs and battling evil".
Again a masterpiece hatched from the brain of Pendleton Ward, the entire series is set to be wrapped up by sometime around 2018, making it a priority on your must-watch line-up.
So what if Adventure Time leans towards PG, the show's slew of one-liners and puns are sure to make up for the lack of x-rated humor.