Every ‘Rick and Morty’ Season Ranked, From Rick Prime to Rock Bottom

‘Rick and Morty’ has built one of the most devoted fanbases in modern animation since its debut on Adult Swim in December 2013. For over a decade, the series has served as the quintessential avenue for wild, adult cartoon antics with the limitless possibilities of science fiction and alternate universes, growing a notable following and becoming a dominant force in adult animation alongside the likes of ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy.’

The show has gone through many different changes and evolutions since its humble beginnings, including an increased budget, shifts in writing styles, and the removal of co-creator Justin Roiland from the series. With eight full seasons now in the books, ranking them is no longer a casual exercise. It is a genuine reckoning with what this show does brilliantly, what it fumbles, and what it has lost and found along the way.

The Seasons That Defined the Golden Era of ‘Rick and Morty’

Season 2 of ‘Rick and Morty’ takes on many sci-fi tropes like split timelines, mini-verses, and hive-minds, as well as the premise of films like ‘The Purge,’ showcasing the show at its best. Its very worst episode, “Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate,” is still considered great, which speaks to how airtight the season is overall.

Season 3 includes some of the best episodes the series has to offer, with “The Ricklantis Mixup,” “Pickle Rick,” and “The Rickshank Redemption” setting an exceptionally high bar. Three of the top ten highest-rated episodes on IMDb come from this season alone, and many fans believe ‘Rick and Morty’ peaked here, with the decline beginning from its finale.

Season 1 laid the groundwork with classic episodes such as “Rick Potion No. 9,” captivating audiences from the very start with its dark humor and philosophical undertones, while Season 2 further raised the stakes with “Total Rickall,” a fan favorite celebrated for its myriad of chaotic imaginary characters. Season 1 remains the foundation, but it earns its place near the top for the same reason any great pilot season does: it made everything that followed feel possible.

Where the Middle Seasons Fall in the Rankings

Season 4 is deemed by many fans to be the last great season of the show, having some of the best episodes the series has to offer while maintaining its quality throughout. The season got off to an exciting start with Morty’s Akira storyline in “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat,” and “The Vat of Acid Episode” has been hailed as one of the show’s most devastating and thought-provoking installments. Its weaker entries drag it below the show’s true peak, but it remains more consistent than what came after.

Season 6 does not suffer from the same inconsistencies as Season 5, opening well with Rick stripped of portal travel before returning to the status quo. The season was a step up in terms of animation, with sharp colors, dynamic camera angles, and an increased budget, and it came off the back of the least-favored season, making it a clear step in the right direction. The first half of Season 6 is widely regarded as one of the show’s all-time greatest runs.

Why Season 5 Remains the Low Point of ‘Rick and Morty’

Season 5 proves to amplify some of the worst aspects of the series, even despite its occasional bright spots. The show is at its best when it finds an effective mixture between intelligent sci-fi and crass humor, yet the balance is consistently off throughout this season.

The season has highlights in the arrival of Rick’s nemesis Mr. Nimbus and the return of Evil Morty in the finale, but the middle of the season lets it down badly, with episodes focused around sperm monsters and an incest baby that many fans have called the worst the show has ever produced. The worst episodes turned many longtime fans away from the series, something the show is still recovering from to this day.

The show hit an all-time low in Season 5, with a meandering storyline that strayed away from the quintessential adventures of the titular duo. In a series defined by its ability to balance nihilism with genuine heart, Season 5 too often served up content that felt neither funny nor purposeful.

The Post-Roiland Era and What Season 7 and 8 Actually Deliver

Adult Swim fired co-creator Justin Roiland in January after he was charged with domestic violence, and while the charges were subsequently dropped, the network pressed forward with recasting, ultimately choosing Ian Cardoni as Rick Sanchez and Harry Belden as Morty Smith. Rather than showing Roiland’s impact on his creation via his absence, Season 7 demonstrated how ‘Rick and Morty’ has matured into a machine built to outlast any individual contributor.

Season 7 features some of the best the show has to offer in “That’s Amorte,” “Unmortricken,” and “Fear No Mort,” forcing the characters to confront their biggest enemies, fears, and consequences. However, one of the worst episodes in the show’s run, “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie,” also comes from this season, which is what prevents it from ranking higher. Season 7 was a rollercoaster of highs and lows, flitting between some of the show’s all-time greatest episodes and some of its absolute worst.

The problem with Season 8 is that it does not have any bad episodes, but it also does not have any really great ones. Every episode is genuinely good, but none of them will be remembered among the all-time best installments of the show. The closest the season comes to greatness is “Nomortland,” the episode that sees rogue Jerrys wandering “The Road,” giving Jerry more depth and agency than he typically receives. If any Season 8 episode becomes a classic, it will likely be that one.

The Final Ranking and What It Says About ‘Rick and Morty’ as a Whole

Placing all eight seasons in order, the consensus across critics and fan communities settles into a recognizable shape. Seasons 2 and 3 occupy the top tier, with Season 1 and Season 4 close behind as foundational and transitional pillars respectively. Season 6 earns a respectable middle position, Season 7 and 8 sit in a complicated post-Roiland era that is better than expected but still searching for its ceiling, and Season 5 remains the outlier that the show had to survive to move forward.

Co-creator Dan Harmon has said, regarding the show’s future quality, that the team is past the dramatic events surrounding Roiland’s exit, and if the show struggles from here forward, it will be for the same reasons any show can struggle, not because of what happened behind the scenes. That is a measured, honest take on a series that has proven remarkably durable. Where do you think each season falls, and is there a run of episodes in the show’s later years that you believe deserves more credit than it typically gets?