Debuting in late 2013, Rick and Morty has quickly become one of the foundational TV shows of its generation. The animated sci-fi comedy focuses on the titular Rick Sanchez and his grandson, Morty Smith. The brilliant but damaged scientist frequently drags his meek grandson on zany adventures through the cosmos, coming up against all sorts of extraterrestrial threats. Underneath the fun premise and bombastic humor is one of television’s most emotionally raw stories, focusing on toxicity in all sorts of forms as the show pushes the boundaries of sci-fi as a genre.
Ahead of the Rick and Morty Season 8, it’s worth revisiting some of the highlights. Rick and Morty has yet to deliver a bad season, although it has had some episodes that can’t quite match the full heights of the show’s potential. When the writing, animation, and cast are firing on all cylinders, Rick and Morty more than earns its place among the pantheon of great TV comedies. Here’s every season of Rick and Morty ranked, and where you can watch them on streaming apps like Max, Hulu, and more!
1. Rick and Morty Season 3 (2017)
While Season 1 came out of the gate hot, and Season 2 definitely helped push the show into the zeitgeist, Rick and Morty Season 3 catapulted the series into the pop culture discourse. With a game-changing premiere in "The Rickshank Rickdemption" that shakes many of the cosmic and character foundations of the show, Season 3 delivers some of the best stand-alone episodes. "Rickmancing the Stone," "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender," and "Rest and Ricklaxation" are all fantastic. However, it's the genre-defining episodes like "The Ricklantis Mixup" and the sheer comedic ambition of "Pickle Rick" that truly cement the show as a one-of-a-kind addition to the entertainment landscape.
Throughout it all, Rick and Morty maintains a comedic core and humanist edge that keeps anything from ever feeling like a purposeless gag. Everything in Season 3 feels predicated on either comedic or emotional effect, aiming for maximum impact with every punchline or emotional gut-punch. The show succeeds in most of them during Season 3, delivering an all-time great season of TV comedy.
2. Rick and Morty Season 4 (2019-2020)
One of the most ambitious seasons of the show from an entirely sci-fi perspective, Season 4 of Rick and Morty is a great showcase for the sheer creativity at the core of the comedy. Episodes like "Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat" and "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty" rip into genre conventions while indulging in them, perhaps best seen with the completely bonkers time-travel comedy of "Rattlestar Ricklactica."
What elevates Season 4 above many of the other seasons is the inclusion of two of the show's most emotionally effective episodes. "The Old Man and the Seat" is a masterclass in comic escalation, with Rick's hunt for the man who sat on his private toilet eventually evolving into an emotionally powerful storyline about self-loathing and unlikely bonds. Similarly, the critically acclaimed "The Vat of Acid Episode" deconstructs the idea of the multiverse and the power of regret, turning a throwaway gag into a haunting reflection on an inevitable experience—all for the sake of a good punchline. Boasting some of Rick and Morty’s most compelling emotional stories, Season 4 is a strong contender for the top spot.
3. Rick and Morty Season 2 (2015)
Rick and Morty Season 2 is when the show really starts to find its stride, delivering a number of hit episodes that flesh out the world and refine the characters. The creative parodies of sci-fi tropes in "A Rickle in Time" and "Mortynight Run" only work because of the keen character focus and darkly hilarious comedy, melding the two to make something effortlessly silly and surprisingly emotional.
The creative comedy heights of the show get a perfect showcase in "Total Rickall," a riff on clip shows that also ends up being entirely original and vitally important to the evolution of the show. On top of absolute comedy bangers like "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" and "Look Who's Purging Now," Season 2 is also when Rick and Morty begins to hint at the true scope of the show's universe with phenomenal episodes like "The Wedding Squanchers," helping set the stage for the heights later seasons would reach.
4. Rick and Morty Season 6 (2022)
Season 6 of Rick and Morty is a strong mix of emotional nightmares, action riffs, and creative nonsense. While this might not be the weightiest year in terms of raw emotion or inventive storytelling, Season 6 is one of the most fun seasons of the show.
Whether it's the Smith family confronting themselves in "Night Family," the rapid fire superpower turns of "Final DeSmithation," or the inherently goofy imagery of "Juricksic Mort," Season 6 feels like the year where Rick and Morty stepped away from the expectations of critics and fans simply to have some fun again. The result is a season that does a good job of building up the lore without being beholden to it, leading to a solid batch of episodes.
5. Rick and Morty Season 7 (2023)
Rick and Morty Season 7 feels like the most self-aware batch of episodes in the run of Rick and Morty so far, with the show clearly wrestling with its character growth in a way previous seasons simply couldn't. This is clear from the weaker episodes of the year (like "How Poopy Got His Poop Back") to the more emotionally resonant and conceptually challenging (like "That's Amorte").
The season's best trick was to incorporate more elements of the expanding worldbuilding without losing the subversive edge that defines the show. The climactic conflict of "Unmortricken" would work perfectly for a season finale, but the decision to air it halfway through the season forces characters (and the audience) to confront their expectations and emotions in a quietly powerful way. This doesn’t mean the show is any less silly or creative, though, with the Pope vs. Sasquatch plot of "Mort: Ragnarick" and the brilliant The Twilight Zone riff in "Fear No Mort" ensuring the series remains hilariously unpredictable.
6. Rick and Morty Season 5 (2021)
Season 5 of Rick and Morty is a terrific case study in how the animated show's highs and lows can counteract one another. At times, Season 5 bends the rules of the show in compelling ways, delivering all-time great episodes like the twisty "Mortyplicity" or the visual ambition of "Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort." However, this is also the season where the show's tendency to blend high-concept sci-fi with juvenile gross-out humor reaches its zenith with the purposefully uncomfortable "Rickdependence Spray" or low-hanging fruit comedy of "Amortycan Grickfitti."
What elevates the episode above Season 1 is a better sense of the universe and the lore surrounding it, leading to a genuinely exciting finale in the form of "Rickmurai Jack." Season 5 proves Rick and Morty still has plenty of life in it, even if some of the concepts began to go off the rails.
7. Rick and Morty Season 1 (2013-2014)
The inaugural season of the series, Season 1 of Rick and Morty, is a little rough around the edges but shows the promise that would elevate it among the upper echelons of modern animation. The characters in Season 1 feel a little wonky at times, with the dynamics not quite defined with the exactness that would come to define the show.
However, the underlying satire of "Meeseeks and Destroy," bleak sci-fi elements of "Rick Potion No. 9," the hilarious riff on deals with the devil in "Something Ricked This Way Comes," and surprising emotional core of "Ricksy Business" all hint at the versatile emotional scope that Rick and Morty would go on to develop. While Season 1 has some forgettable entries, the thoughtful ambition and bittersweet core of Rick and Morty gets defined from the first episode onward.
Where To Watch Every Season Of 'Rick and Morty' Online
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