Justin Roiland, 'Rick and Morty' Co-Creator, Dropped by Adult Swim ...

25 Jan 2023

The Wall Street Journal

Justin Roiland, the co-creator of the adult animation series ‘Rick and Morty,’ will have a pretrial hearing in April. Photo: Dave Starbuck/Future-Image/ZUMA Press

Jan. 25, 2023 12:51 pm ET

Cable channel Adult Swim said it has dropped “Rick and Morty” co-creator Justin Roiland, who is facing felony domestic violence and false imprisonment charges in California.

A spokeswoman for Adult Swim confirmed that it is ending its relationship with Mr. Roiland. Adult Swim said Tuesday it still planned to produce a seventh season of the hit animated series, even though Mr. Roiland has done the voice work for both Morty and Rick for the previous seasons.

Adult Swim is a cable channel featuring animated shows with adult themes that takes over from Cartoon Network at night. The networks are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Adult Swim plans on recasting the voices for the characters, the spokeswoman said.

Prosecutors in Orange County, Calif., charged Mr. Roiland in May 2020 with one felony count of domestic battery and one felony count of false imprisonment for an incident in January 2020, according to court records. The alleged incident involved an unnamed woman who was dating Mr. Roiland at the time, according to court records.

Mr. Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges in October 2020. There is a pretrial hearing in the case scheduled for April 27.

An attorney for Mr. Roiland didn’t respond to a request for comment. The attorney has previously said Mr. Roiland looks forward to clearing his name.

Adult Swim cut ties with Mr. Roiland after NBC News reported on the charges earlier this month.

“Rick and Morty,” created by Mr. Roiland and Dan Harmon, premiered on Adult Swim in 2013. The series, which features the misadventures of a mad scientist and his grandson, has been a critical hit and won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program in 2018 and 2020.

Additionally, Squanch Games, a videogame-development company founded by Mr. Roiland, said Tuesday that Mr. Roiland had resigned on Jan. 16 as chief executive of the company.

Mr. Roiland is also the co-creator of the ongoing Hulu animated series “Solar Opposites” and is the voice of the main character. He is an executive producer on Hulu’s new animated show “Koala Man” and provides voice work for the series. Walt Disney Co. ’s 20th Television Animation produces both shows.

Hulu and 20th Television Animation didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Write to Joseph De Avila at [email protected]