Rick and Mortyis nearly to conclude its third season, which took nigh two years to brand. So with the prove about to go off the air again, what practice we know about the 4th season of the series? What comes next?

Technically, Developed Swim hasn't really announced thatRick and Mortywill render for Flavor 4, only it seems extraordinarily likely because how popular the serial is. Plus, co-creator Dan Harmon has repeatedly talked virtually a fourth flavour in interviews, though he has occasionally stopped himself to clarify that they take non been renewed yet.

"Not to say that in that location's a four," Harmon said earlier this summer, according to Polygon. "There'south a PR person who is freaking out right now. Yeah permit'south get existent honest. Nosotros have ten episodes."

Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty 50 Adult Swim

In addition, during aRick and Mortylive issue alee of the premiere this summer, co-creator Justin Roiland referred to Season 4 before Harmon stopped him and said somewhat jokingly that they might non go another season.

"Flavour 4 might non happen," Harmon said. "Information technology depends on how much of the Hot Topic slipper money we get."

Originally, Season three ofRick and Mortywas going to consist of 14 episodes, but Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland were simply able to produce 10. In a recent interview, Harmon said he likes the thought of doing 14 in Flavor iv, though he was reluctant to commit to that.

"I would like to recall I've learned plenty from my mistakes in season 3 that we could definitely do fourteen now, merely then I have to say, 'Yeah but you're the guy who says we tin can do 14 who turned out to exist incorrect so we're not listening to y'all now,'" Harmon told Entertainment Weekly.

Harmon went on to say that what he wants to practise is make 10 episodes of Season 4 and so hopefully earn an additional four episodes from Developed Swim once they've proven that they tin can handle 10. Harmon besides noted that this will be the first fourth dimension he makes information technology to the fourth season of a show of his without being fired.

"Because I never got this far [working on NBC'southward]Customs," Harmon said. "I brutal apart in flavour three ofCommunity and got fired in season 4. At present I'm about to exercise season iv ofRick and Morty and desire to bear witness that I've grown."

Dan Harmon at Comic-Con 2014
Dan Harmon at Comic-Con 2014. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In terms of whenRick and Mortywill return for Season 4, nobody really knows, only information technology seems unlikely that it will come sooner than 2019. There was a notoriously long break betwixt Season 2 and Season three, with Harmon and Roiland taking 21 months to air the new flavour (not counting one episode that was aired early April 1). But even Season 2 took 15 months to make, and so if Harmon and Roiland followed that schedule for Flavour 4, the new episodes would air in January 2019. If Season 4 takes as long as Season 3 did, so it wouldn't air until July 2019.

It remains to be seen whether Harmon and Roiland will see the same problems making Season 4 that they faced making Season 3. Harmon has previously explained that Flavor 3 took then long not because of any drama backside-the-scenes, just just because it took longer than they expected to write it and they actually wanted to make certain the episodes were good.

https://twitter.com/danharmon/condition/878638577520754690

1 thing Harmon has fabricated clear is that he and Roiland don't actually take a grand program for the testify and that they similar to effigy things out as they get to them. That said, they do have some leftover ideas from Season 3 that they might comport over into the next batch of episodes.

"We have a pretty hefty shoebox from flavour three of ideas that are ready to go," Harmon told Entertainment Weekly. "Some are fully written, in fact."