Rick and Morty season 5 release date, episode 1 reviews and Hulu and HBO Max details

Rick and Morty season 5 release date, episode 1 reviews and Hulu and HBO Max details
(Image credit: Adult Swim/WarnerMedia)

Hold onto your Mr. Meeseeks', because Rick and Morty season 5 is here. Yes, the most popular dysfunctional Adult Swim family is back fore more chaos. And the early reviews suggest the show is evolving at that.

Thankfully, this wait won't be going on for too much longer, as only 1 year separates seasons 4 and 5 (much better than the 2 years we waited after season 3. Oh, and Adult Swim has announced a whole day dedicated to Rick and Morty — details below. 

And if you're not ready to watch now, Rick and Morty seasons 1 through 4 are currently on HBO Max.

Rick and Morty season 5 release date

Rick and Morty season 5 hits Adult Swim today Sunday, June 20 at 11:00 p.m. ET and PT — check out our guide for how to watch Rick and Morty season 5 to learn more.

The WarnerMedia press release announcing the new season didn't provide more details, but we've got a hunch for how it will play out. We expect season 5 to be another batch of 10 episodes, aired in two halves. This is what season 4 did, airing 5 episodes across November and December 2019 and the back half in May 2020.

Rick and Morty season 5 episode 1 reviews

The reviews are out for "Mort Dinner Rick Andre," (a pretty high-brow joke for this show), the Rick and Morty season premiere. And they're good.

For those tired of Rick and Morty feeling like an endless loop of Rick's dirtbag behavior and the family's forgiveness, we've got good news. David Opie's review at Digital Spy highlights how Morty is fed up and pushing back, noting it's "a marked change from season four, which mostly dealt with standalone stories that did little to advance the overarching story."

That said, Decider's Kayla Cobb writes that "The season’s first episode — the only one that was provided to critics ahead of its premiere — is just as rambling, hyper-specific, and brilliantly dumb as this series always has been." She's all-in on the premiere, saying 'Mort Dinner Rick Andre' is a slam dunk of an opening episode."

Rick and Morty season 5 trailer

The Rick and Morty season 5 trailer starts with Rick and the Smith family in a too-haunted forest. 

Then, before we know it there's an Aquaman knockoff who's a bit too sexual, lots of leather, a crashing space ship, Summer driving a spaceship with a sun attached to its rear bumper and a Voltron parody. Oh, and it seems like Mr. Poopybutthole, or one of his relatives, is also along for the ride.

Rick and Morty season 5 trailer song

Wondering what that song in the background is? It's "Blue Orchid" by The White Stripes.

Will Rick and Morty season 5 be on Hulu, Netflix or HBO Max?

Since Rick and Morty moved to HBO Max in America, the odds of it being on Netflix are only good if you're not in America — as HBO Max isn't available outside of the U.S.

Rick and Morty won't be leaving Hulu though. For some reason, HBO Max (the streaming home for all things Adult Swim) is sharing Rick and Morty with Hulu. Kind of like how Avatar The Last Airbender is on Netflix and Paramount Plus.

As for when Rick and Morty season 5 is coming to Hulu and HBO Max? To be frank, we're speculating on this — as nothing has been announced. Previously, Rick and Morty season 4 part 2 arrived on Netflix seven months after its Adult Swim run, so it could be around January 2022. 

Rick and Morty season 5: Rick and Morty Day

Adult Swim is declaring the Rick and Morty season 5 premiere day (Sunday, June 20) as "Rick and Morty Day." 

Rick and Morty Day seems perfectly befitting of a show that mocked product placement in a series of endless Pringles ads: the press release states it will be "an out of this world celebration with sneak peeks, behind the scenes footage and special surprises across TV, digital and social, kicking off the global premieres of the new season."

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.