Adult Swim has cut ties with Emmy-winning “Rick and Morty” co-creator Justin Roiland, nearly two weeks after he was charged with felony domestic violence related to an incident first surfaced in a January 2020 criminal complaint.
The network confirmed to TheWrap that it has “ended its association” with the creative. However, “Rick and Morty” will continue, the show’s official Twitter account announced.
“The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7,” the tweet read. Roiland, who created the series with “Community’s” Dan Harmon, voiced the two title characters.
Roiland is facing the DV charges in Orange County, California, concerning a criminal complaint filed by an anonymous Jane Doe, an intimate partner at the time, over an alleged encounter on or around Jan. 19, 2020. The writer-executive producer later that year pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.
While Roiland appeared in court on Jan. 12 for a pre-trial hearing, the latest appearance date was continued to April 27.
Per publicly accessible records, the charges were filed in May 2020 and Roiland was subsequently arrested and freed after posting a $50,000 bond in August of that year. He was then arraigned in October. A court-ordered protective order was filed that month and instructed Roiland not to harass, threaten or surveil the Jane Doe and stated that he is not permitted to be within 100 feet of her, nor own or have access to guns. The order is through October 2023.
Season 7 of the long-running adult-animated comedy will mark its 10th year on the air. In an interview with TheWrap held prior to the allegations breaking, Roiland said “Rick and Morty” was designed to be ongoing for years. The Emmy-winning, half-hour show follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe.
“Rick and Morty” stars Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”), Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”) and Spencer Grammer (“Greek”). Harmon now serves as the sole executive producer.
