Unfortunately, it’s starting to look like when you get sentenced to life in maximum security prison by the Galactic Federation with no chance of parole, you might actually be screwed. Indiewire reports show co-creator Dan Harmon took the stage Sunday night at the Sundance Film Festival for a discussion about his career, and when asked when the popular Adult Swim series Rick And Morty would return, he made it clear that not even Mr. Meeseeks would be capable of getting a return date at the moment.
“I’m so sorry,” Harmon said. “I don’t have a release date for season three. It’s not that I know it and I’m not allowed to say it; it’s [Adult Swim’s] domain. What I will tell you is it’s late because of us, it’s late because of me.” He laid blame for the delay squarely at the feet of himself and fellow writer/showrunner Justin Roiland, saying the show kept taking longer and longer to write, and neither of them could figure out exactly why. Creative struggles clearly play a role in the painstaking process, however. “We have fights all the time and then we have fights about why we’re having fights,” Harmon explained, making it clear that Roiland and himself are just like every other couple in a long-term relationship. “‘Well, we didn’t fight during Season two, that’s why it’s taking longer! All this fighting! So okay, let’s stop fighting!’”
Creative delays are becoming more common/allowed on cable, though, since The Sopranos first took some extra time off between seasons. Most recently, FX granted Donald Glover time off to film a Star Wars film before beginning work on season two of Atlanta, and really, it’s only been a year and a few months—there was a longer lag between seasons of Mad Men, Fargo, and more. Of course, none of those shows had cliffhangers involving the Earth under new control from an alien empire.