Filed Under: U.S.
Adult Swim, Hulu drop 'Rick and Morty' co-creator Justin Roiland
Published: January 25, 2023, 2:30 pm
Updated: January 25th
By Ryan Robertson (Anchor, Investigative Reporter)
Justin Roiland, the co-creator of the wildly popular "Rick and Morty" show on Adult Swim, is facing felony domestic violence charges in California. He's also now out of a job.
Both Adult Swim and Hulu announced this week they were cutting ties with Roiland. The actor, writer and producer is charged with one count of felony domestic battery and one felony count of false imprisonment.
According to prosecutors, the incident that led to the charges for Roiland happened in Orange County in January of 2020. The alleged incident involved a woman Roiland was reportedly dating at the time. After he was initially charged, Roiland pleaded not guilty in October 2020. His pretrial hearing is now scheduled for the end of April.
Adult Swim is a cable channel featuring animated shows with adult themes. It's owned by Warner Bros. and airs in the evenings on the same channel as Cartoon Network. Adult Swim partnered with Roiland to create six seasons of "Rick and Morty." The show centers around the wild adventures of a drunken mad scientist and his bumbling grandson. It was a critical hit and won multiple awards.
Adult Swim said it still plans to produce season seven of "Rick and Morty." The network will cast new actors to voice the main characters, since Roiland was previously the voice of both Rick and Morty.
The streaming platform Hulu was also working with Roiland to produce a couple of animated series. Hulu executives said this week both "Solar Opposites" and "Koala Man" will continue production without Roiland. Squanch Games, the video game development company founded by Roiland, said he resigned as the company's CEO back on Jan. 16.
Justin Roiland
Squanch Games
JUSTIN ROILAND, THE CO-CREATOR OF THE WILDLY POPULAR RICK AND MORTY SHOW, IS FACING FELONY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES IN CALIFORNIA.
HE'S NOW ALSO OUT OF A JOB.
ACCORDING TO PROSECUTORS, THE INCIDENT THAT LED TO THE CHARGES FOR ROILAND HAPPENED IN ORANGE COUNTY IN JANUARY OF 2020. AT THE TIME, ROILAND PLEADED NOT GUILTY. HIS PRETRIAL HEARING IS SCHEDULED FOR THE END OF APRIL.
ADULT SWIM IS A CABLE CHANNEL FEATURING ANIMATED SHOWS WITH ADULT THEMES. ADULT SWIM PARTNERED WITH ROILAND TO CREATE SIX SEASONS OF RICK AND MORTY. THE SHOW CENTERED AROUND THE WILD ADVENTURES OF A DRUNKEN MAD-SCIENTIST AND HIS BUMBLING GRANDSON. IT WAS A CRITICAL HIT AND WON MULTIPLE AWARDS.
ADULT SWIM SAYS IT STILL PLANS TO PRODUCE SEASON SEVEN OF RICK AND MORTY, BUT WILL CAST NEW ACTORS TO VOICE THE MAIN CHARACTERS, SINCE ROILAND WAS PREVIOUSLY THE VOICE OF BOTH RICK AND MORTY.
THE STREAMING PLATFORM HULU WAS ALSO WORKING WITH ROILAND TO PRODUCE A COUPLE OF ANIMATED SERIES. HULU EXECUTIVES SAY BOTH SOLAR OPPOSITES AND KOALA MAN WILL CONTINUE PRODUCTION WITHOUT ROILAND.
AND SQUANCH GAMES, THE VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOUNDED BY ROILAND, SAID HE RESIGNED AS THE COMPANY'S CEO BACK ON JANUARY 16TH.
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