severance

Adult Swim Drops Rick and Morty Cocreator Justin Roiland After Domestic Violence Charges

The show’s two main characters, both voiced by Roiland, will reportedly be recast ahead of the upcoming seventh season.
Adult Swim Drops ‘Rick and Morty Cocreator Justin Roiland After Domestic Violence Charges
Michael Buckner

Update, January 25, 2:20 p.m. ET: Hulu has severed ties with Justin Roiland, who is involved with two series for the streamer—Solar Opposites and Koala Man.“We have ended our association with Justin Roiland,” 20th Television Animation and Hulu Originals told Variety in a statement. Both series will go on without him. 

The original post continues below.

Adult Swim “has ended its association” with Rick and Morty cocreator Justin Roiland, the cable channel confirmed on Tuesday by retweeting a statement from the show’s official Twitter account. Ties were severed after Roiland was charged with domestic violence.

X content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

In addition to cocreating the hit animated series with Dan Harmon, Roiland also voices the show’s two main characters, as well as other roles, all of which will be recast as the series continues into season seven, sources tell Variety. Back in 2018, Rick and Morty received a staggering 70-episode renewal, and its sixth season concluded last December. 

As first reported by NBC News, Roiland pleaded not guilty in 2020 to one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit in Orange County. The incident allegedly took place in January 2020 against an unnamed Jane Doe who was dating Roiland at the time. He appeared in court for a pretrial hearing on January 12 and is due for another on April 27. “We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible,” attorney T. Edward Welbourn wrote in a statement to the outlet on behalf of his client.

Beyond Rick and Morty, which premiered in 2013, Roiland is the cocreator and main voice actor on Hulu’s Solar Opposites, which was renewed for a fifth season in October. He also provides voice work and is an executive producer on the streamer’s Koala Man, which debuted on January 9. On Tuesday, Squanch Games, the video game company Roiland cofounded in 2016, confirmed his resignation on Twitter.