‘Rick and Morty’ Star Chris Parnell Says Season 5 Will Come With Shorter Wait Than Season 4

Rick and Morty Season 4 is back this weekend, and according to star Chris Parnell, this may be the last time fans have a long wait between new installments. Parnell spoke to TV Line on Saturday, in an interview about what his character Jerry will get up to this season. He said that fans will be pleased by how quickly Season 5 follows Season 4.

As die-hard fans know, Rick and Morty got a generous renewal deal between Season 3 and Season 4, guaranteeing the show at least 70 more episodes at Adult Swim. At the time, co-creator Justin Roiland said that that would probably speed up the process of making new episodes, since the writer, animators and actors could work continuously instead of taking time off when contracts needed renewal. However, that good news was followed by a wait of over two years before Season 4 finally premiered. Now, Parnell says that that pattern will change going forward.

“[Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland] wanted some job security, and they wanted to know that the show was going to be around for a while so that they and the writers could get into some sort of momentum,” he said. “We’ll see less lengthy breaks between seasons going forward because of that. And it’s very gratifying to know we’re going to have all those episodes. Hopefully Jerry will be around for the duration. You never know.”

Further into the interview, Parnell spoke about the show itself, particularly his character, Smith family patriarch Jerry, and what the new episodes have in store for him. He said that despite the fact that Jerry is often the butt of the joke, fans should not pity him.

“It’s so much more fun to play losers than winners. There’s so much more potential there for comedy,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be on board for quite a few years now with Jerry. I like to imagine that a lot of people have a soft spot for him because, in the world of Rick and Morty, he’s the most pathetic. He’s the most put-upon and pushed around. He rails against that sometimes, but he manages to make it work for him in his way. He doesn’t usually have a lot of demands. It’s an awesome character to play.”

Parnell admitted that he recorded his parts for upcoming episodes quite a while ago now, so he dies not have too fresh a memory for what fans have in store. One tidbit he did reveal is that Jerry takes up beekeeping soon in a literal bee plot.

Rick and Morty Season 4, Episode 6, “Never Ricking Morty,” premieres on Sunday, May 3 at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.