Rick and Morty is a mature-rated animated television show on Adult Swim. The show follows a teenage boy, Morty, voiced by co-creator of Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland (Fish Hooks), and his inventor grandfather Rick, also voiced by Roiland, as they go on adventures through alternate dimensions. Many of Rick and Morty’s adventures involve Morty’s sister, Summer, voiced by Spencer Grammer (Greek). With the on-going WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike, Rick and Morty stars have voiced their feelings about how they have been treated by the industry as working actors trying to make a living. Via Comicbook, Grammer said, “When I had my son… I didn’t make enough earning wages that year, and I didn’t qualify for health insurance. I had to find outside health insurance for my child’s first year even though I had been on a popular TV show & was on Rick & Morty.” Health insurance is one of the pressing topics being discussed in negotiations with AMPTP.
Another voice actor from the show, Alan Tudyk (Moana), also shared how disappointed he is with how he and his fellow actors are compensated while working on such a successful show. Via Comicbook, Tudyk shared, “If you voice every episode of a Rick and Morty season, you will make roughly $15,000 only. Producers have been successful in keeping pay very low for voice-over actors. The Simpsons and Family Guy are outliers.” Reasons such as these are why SAG-AFTRA members are on the picket lines.
According to official Rick and Morty social media accounts, release date for the seventh season of the show will be announced next week. This new season leaves a lot of unknowns for fans as Roiland was allegedly charged with domestic violence against a woman he was dating in 2020. This resulted in Roiland’s departure from Rick and Morty, as well as his disassociation from his other animated series, Solar Opposites. Several months after the public announcement of Roiland’s alleged charge, news sources revealed the charges were dropped. Despite the resolution of the alleged legal situation, Roiland still remains uninvolved in the production of the seventh season of Rick and Morty. Word has not yet been announced on who will fill his place voicing the show’s two main characters.