Rick and Morty Season 7 wrapped on Sunday night with a heart-wrenching episode that sent Morty into something called the Fear Hole. Tucked within numerous layers of realistic nightmares were some seriously jaw-dropping surprises. For anybody who missed it, you’re probably wondering when you’ll be able to easily stream the episode on the usual apps, and we’re here to tell you that it’ll be possible far sooner than you think.
When is the Rick and Morty Season 7 Max release date?
Adult Swim announced on Monday, barely 12 hours after the Season 7 finale aired on Adult Swim, that Season 7 would be available to stream on Max starting Monday, January 22, 2024. That means just over a month after Season 7 wraps, every episode of Rick and Morty ever will be available to watch on the Max streaming service.
Warner Bros. originally announced in October 2019 that Rick and Morty would be available to stream on HBO Max in 2020, back when it was still a new and upcoming streaming platform. WarnerMedia owns both HBO and Cartoon Network, which hosts Adult Swim, so it makes sense that the rebranded Max would get early streaming rights.
When is the Rick and Morty Season 7 Hulu release date?
What about Hulu? Adult Swim has yet to confirm a release date there, but Disney-owned Hulu has a pre-existing agreement with WarnerMedia that includes the 70-episode Rick and Morty renewal originally announced in May 2018. We hit the halfway mark of that 70-episode order in Season 7, and this agreement should extend through the end of Season 10.
Historically, new seasons were added to Hulu and Max exactly five months after the finale aired. That may still be the case this time around for Hulu on May 17, 2024. But an October 2019 article from The Hollywood Reporter indicated that new seasons on Hulu “will now be available at the same time they land on HBO Max, about five months after the finales.” So is the Hulu release always timed exactly to the Max release? That remains unclear.
What it means for Rick and Morty Season 8
This new accelerated streaming timeline could be related to vast improvements to the show’s production in recent years. Showrunner Scott Marder told Inverse in August 2022 that there’d be a new season of the show “every year” for the foreseeable future. Executive Producer Steve Levy doubled down on this in an interview with Inverse shortly before Season 7 wrapped when asked if the show’s rollout would get even more consistent: “That's the hope, that we would just air 10 in a row every year.”
Season 7 was actually the very first time in Rick and Morty’s decade-long history that there was a new episode every Sunday night for 10 weeks straight. Every other previous season had missed weeks or extended mid-season breaks.
The Season 7 announcement teaser was released in early September with a full trailer later that month before the October 15 premiere. Season 8 production is undoubtedly well under way, and the writers have probably already broken ground on developing Season 9. At this rate, we’ll probably get some kind of Season 8 announcement before the end of summer 2024 with a premiere sometime in the fall. So it stands to reason that new seasons hitting streaming platforms earlier rather than later is the new norm.
