"The Rickshank Rickdemption" premiered on April 1, 2017, without any prior announcement at 8pm ET on Adult Swim. As a part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools' joke, the premiere was broadcast for four straight hours, interrupting the television network's scheduled new episodes of Samurai Jack and Dragon Ball Super.[6] It was watched by 676,000 American households and had a 0.2 rating in the 18–49 demographic. By 11pm, as details of the episode's unexpected debut spread, "The Rickshank Rickdemption" had its best showing with 949,000 viewers and a 0.4 rating.[7]