When Will ‘Rick and Morty’ Actually End? Here’s Our Best Guess

Fans have been asking the same question for years now, and it keeps getting harder to answer with a straight face. Every time ‘Rick and Morty‘ wraps up a season, the internet spends a few weeks wondering if this could finally be the end for Rick Sanchez and his long suffering family, only for Adult Swim to quietly extend the show’s life yet again.

Right now the answer to when ‘Rick and Morty’ ends is more complicated than ever, because the show has been locked into a deal that stretches years into the future. Between long term renewals, a spinoff, and rumors of a possible movie, the franchise looks less like a show approaching its finale and more like a universe that keeps expanding.

Rick and Morty Renewal Through Season 12

The biggest reason nobody can put a firm end date on ‘Rick and Morty’ is the sheer size of its current renewal. In January 2023, Adult Swim confirmed a long term deal that renewed the series through a tenth season, and that was only the beginning. In October 2024, the show was renewed for two more seasons up to season 12, adding twenty additional episodes to the overall order.

That means as of right now, ‘Rick and Morty’ is contractually guaranteed to keep going for at least three more seasons after the one currently airing. The show was already renewed for another two seasons back in 2024, with three seasons still left to air at the time, which puts the total at twelve seasons by 2029.

For a series that started as a raunchy Adult Swim curiosity, that kind of commitment is enormous. It remains Adult Swim’s number one program and a two time Emmy winner for Outstanding Animated Program, which explains why the network keeps betting big on it rather than looking for an exit.

Executive producers made the renewal official at a public event rather than a quiet press release. Executive producers Dan Harmon and Scott Marder announced the renewal decision during a panel at the 2024 New York Comic Con, with Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen praising the show’s impact on adult animation.

Dan Harmon Comments on the Show’s Future

Co-creator Dan Harmon has been fairly candid about what keeps ‘Rick and Morty’ alive behind the scenes. “Nobody wants a universe without Rick and Morty,” Harmon said in a statement, adding that “the list of places to go remains infinite.”

He has also acknowledged that keeping the show running this long has not been easy from a writing standpoint. Harmon shared that the writing process for Season 9 has been challenging, and that he was never going to let the show die because there was way too much quality work already in the pipeline to let it go.

Adult Swim’s president has echoed that same energy publicly. Michael Ouweleen stated that from Season One, ‘Rick and Morty’ set a new standard in adult animation and has shown no signs of stopping, and said he would be joining millions of fans looking forward to more adventures in the years ahead.

Taken together, those comments paint a picture of a creative team that is not remotely close to plotting a final bow. If anything, the tone from Harmon and the network suggests they view ‘Rick and Morty’ as an ongoing institution rather than a story racing toward a conclusion.

Season 9 Schedule and What It Means for the Endgame

Season 9 itself gives a pretty clear snapshot of how the show currently operates, and it does not look like a series winding down. The season premiered on Adult Swim on May 24, 2026, with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays, and is scheduled to wrap up on July 26, 2026.

The season carries ten episodes, consistent with the format fans have grown used to. The complete lineup runs from the premiere ‘There’s Something About Morty’ through episodes like ‘Rick Fu Hustle,’ ‘A Ricker Runs Through It,’ and ‘Mortgully: The Last Rickforest,’ closing out with the finale ‘Field of Dreams’ on July 26, 2026.

The franchise is also branching outward instead of narrowing toward an ending. A President Curtis spinoff is slated for release later in July 2026, and speculation is already swirling around Evil Morty’s potential return, with theories tying his future to a possible Rick and Morty animated film. That kind of expansion, spinoffs, movie chatter, and multi season orders, is not typically what a show does when it is preparing to say goodbye.

There is also the simple fact that the production side seems fully staffed for the long haul. Voice actor Ian Cardoni reported in June 2025 that principal recording for the season was already finished, with the primary cast including Ian Cardoni as Rick, Harry Belden as Morty, Sarah Chalke as Beth, Chris Parnell as Jerry, and Spencer Grammer as Summer all returning.

So When Does Rick and Morty Actually End

Based on everything currently on the table, the honest best guess is that ‘Rick and Morty’ is not ending anytime soon, and definitely not before Season 12 wraps. Based on the current release pattern, creators expect the show to continue until 2029, which lines up with the season order Adult Swim has already locked in.

Could Season 12 be the actual endpoint? It is possible, but nothing said publicly by Harmon, Marder, or Ouweleen points to a planned finale on the horizon. Every quote so far leans toward the show being treated as an open ended franchise rather than a story building to a specific last episode, and the spinoff and movie talk only reinforces that.

For now, the safest prediction anyone can make is that ‘Rick and Morty’ will keep going well past the point most shows would have wrapped up, with 2029 standing as the loosest kind of finish line rather than a confirmed one.

Whether that excites you or exhausts you probably depends on how many more interdimensional detours you think Rick and Morty have left in them, so with ‘Field of Dreams’ closing out Season 9 soon, do you think this franchise is building toward an actual endgame or just getting started all over again.