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Rick and Morty Season 9 Debuts; Harmon's “Shark Jump” Critique

6/16/2026

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Summary

Story summary

HBO Max released Rick and Morty Season 9 in the United States.
Dan Harmon said the series jumped the shark in episode 2 when Morty’s dog Snowball receives a human-like device.
He added that the multiversal setting lets the show do anything, providing narrative freedom.
Co-showrunner Scott Marder said episode 2’s plot—Rick hiding in a town after a landscaping talk—came from Harmon’s bar encounter with a stranger who thought he was a landscaper.

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Story summary

HBO Max released Rick and Morty Season 9 in the United States.
Dan Harmon said the series jumped the shark in episode 2 when Morty’s dog Snowball receives a human-like device.
He added that the multiversal setting lets the show do anything, providing narrative freedom.
Co-showrunner Scott Marder said episode 2’s plot—Rick hiding in a town after a landscaping talk—came from Harmon’s bar encounter with a stranger who thought he was a landscaper.