rick and morty is an american adult animated science fiction sitcom created by justin roiland and dan harmon for cartoon network's nighttime adult swim programming block. the series follows the misadventures of cynical mad scientist rick sanchez and his good-hearted but fretful grandson morty smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures. roiland voices the eponymous characters, with chris parnell, spencer grammer and sarah chalke voicing the rest of rick and morty's family. the series originated from an animated short parody film of back to the future, created by roiland for channel 101, a short film festival co-founded by harmon. the series has been acclaimed by critics for its originality, creativity and humor. the fourth season premiered on november 10, 2019, and consists of ten episodes. a fifth season was confirmed in july 2020, as part of a long-term deal in may 2018 that ordered 70 new episodes over an unspecified number of seasons. the show revolves around the adventures of the members of the smith household, which consists of parents jerry and beth, their children summer and morty, and beth's father, rick sanchez, who lives with them as a guest. according to justin roiland, the family lives outside of seattle, washington.[3] the adventures of rick and morty, however, take place across an infinite number of realities, with the characters travelling to other planets and dimensions through portals and rick's flying car. rick is an eccentric and alcoholic mad scientist, who eschews many ordinary conventions such as school, marriage, love, and family. he frequently goes on adventures with his 14-year-old grandson, morty, a kind-hearted but easily distressed boy, whose naïve but grounded moral compass plays counterpoint to rick's machiavellian ego. morty's 17-year-old sister, summer, is a more conventional teenager who worries about improving her status among her peers and sometimes follows rick and morty on their adventures. the kids' mother, beth, is a generally level-headed person and assertive force in the household, though self-conscious about her professional role as a horse surgeon. she is dissatisfied with her marriage to jerry, a simple-minded and insecure person, who disapproves of rick's influence over his family.