Rick and Morty season 8 finale will be different from anything fans have seen before, hints Dan Harmon

Rick and Morty Season 8 culminated with Hot Rick, a finale Dan Harmon and team had framed as an emotionally different capper that foregrounds Rick’s baggage rather than lore fireworks. The episode aired in the U.S. on Sunday, July 27, 2025, at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Adult Swim.

Hot Rick is directed by Brian J. Kaufman and written by Albro Lundy and James Siciliano. The series is created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. Executive producers this season include Harmon, showrunner Scott Marder, Steve Levy, James Siciliano, Albro Lundy, and Monica Mitchell.

The major voice cast across Rick and Morty Season 8 features Ian Cardoni (Rick), Harry Belden (Morty), Chris Parnell (Jerry), Spencer Grammer (Summer), and Sarah Chalke (Beth).

Across 10 episodes, Rick and Morty Season 8 balanced one‑offs with character‑driven momentum, matrix misadventures, a Citadel‑adjacent “spiritual sequel,” body‑horror Easter riffs, Jerry‑centric detours, and a late‑season Morty Jr. check‑in, before a finale about letting go of the past.

The full season streams on Max and Hulu in the U.S. from September 1, 2025. New episodes are available next‑day for digital purchase during broadcast.

How the finale sets itself apart from prior enders

At San Diego Comic‑Con (July 26), the team teased a different kind of closer, centering Rick’s interior life more than canon mechanics. As per the Polygon report dated May 24, 2025, Showrunner Scott Marder stated,

“You might be surprised that we never start off a season with 'What’s the canon we owe?' That’s the heavy lifting, and not necessarily how we want to start a season off.”

That approach guides Rick and Morty Season 8 toward character clarity. As cited in the Polygon report dated May 24, 2025, Dan Harmon said on Rick's evolution,

“He’s still cynical, he’s still a nihilist. He’s still self-loathing, and filled with self-damage. Those things are wired into him. And yet he’s also acknowledged that other people are arbitrarily important to him.”

What Hot Rick is about: Adult Swim’s official logline frames it as an episode about “trying weird stuff to let go of the past.” Pre‑air previews and write‑ups pointed to Jerry’s memories as a key lens, an angle the finale pays off by interrogating how the family remembers Rick.

From the panel itself, the message was that the capper explains Rick’s current state rather than chasing mythology. As per a Gizmodo report dated July 26, 2025, Scott Marder stated,

“a good explainer for why [Rick’s] just the way he is.”

Rick and Morty Season 8 release plan, episode count, and where it aired

Rick and Morty Season 8 comprises 10 episodes, premiering May 25, 2025, and airing Sundays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Adult Swim through July 27. In the UK, episodes aired on E4 with a short delay.

In the U.S., episodes were also sold next‑day digitally, with the entire season streaming on Max and Hulu starting September 1, 2025. (Past seasons stream now. Next‑day streaming for new episodes was not offered during the run.)

For reference, Adult Swim’s episode hub confirms the Season 8 slate, including The Rick, The Mort & The Ugly (Citadel rebuilders), The Last Temptation of Jerry (Easter), Nomortland (Jerry plot), Morty Daddy (Morty Jr. returns), and Hot Rick (finale).

Who made Rick and Morty Season 8: Creators, producers, director, and cast

The show is created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. Executive producers on Rick and Morty Season 8 include Dan Harmon, Scott Marder (showrunner), Steve Levy, James Siciliano, Albro Lundy, and Monica Mitchell.

The finale Hot Rick credits Brian J. Kaufman as director and James Siciliano & Albro Lundy as writers. The principal voice cast this season is Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer, and Sarah Chalke.

The creative stance this year was explicit: character first, lore second. Harmon described Season 8’s compass as exploring a “post‑achievement” Rick who must navigate relationships after his vendetta resolved.

Season 8 plot and story arcs at a glance

Across Rick and Morty Season 8, the room leaned episodic while threading Rick/Beth/Space‑Beth dynamics, Jerry‑focused comedy/drama, and a Morty Jr. epilogue.

Adult Swim’s synopses highlight: a Matrix riff (ep. 1), Citadel‑adjacent storytelling (ep. 3), an Easter‑themed Jerry episode (ep. 4), a theme‑park family split (ep. 6), a meta‑franchise writing exercise (ep. 7), Jerry’s jobless detour (ep. 8), a Morty Jr. revisit (ep. 9), and a finale about letting go of the past (ep. 10).

The writers have said that Seasons 8–10 were broken together, clarifying the emphasis this year on Rick’s emotional calculus over myth arcs.

Stay tuned for more updates.