Adult Swim has announced that Rick and Morty will continue without co-creator and star Justin Roiland, who has been dropped from the show as he awaits trial on domestic abuse charges.

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The channel announced the news in a statement yesterday (24th January), revealing that the show had "ended its association" with Roiland but that "the talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on season 7".

Marie Moore, the senior vice president of communications at Warner Bros Discovery, has confirmed that the voice roles of both title characters will be recast for future seasons, although it's not yet clear who will take on the two parts.

Meanwhile, Roiland's co-creator Dan Harmon will now be the lone showrunner.

The news that Roiland had been charged with one count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit came to light earlier this month, first reported by NBC News.

The incident dates back to 2020 – when Roiland pleaded not guilty before being released on a bond – and he is expected to return to court in April this year.

T Edward Welbourn, a legal representative for Roiland, released a statement earlier this month claiming that "not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the district attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence".

"We look forward to clearing Justin's name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible," Welbourn added.

Roiland and Harmon created Rick and Morty in 2013, and the animated sci-fi series has now run for six seasons, proving incredibly popular with a dedicated following of fans.

In 2018, Adult Swim commissioned a further 70 episodes of the show, over half of which are still to air, meaning that it is currently set to run until at least its tenth season.

In addition to Rick and Morty, Roiland is also the co-creator of Hulu animation Solar Opposites, while he has had voice roles in a number of other animations including Adventure Time and Fish Hooks.

He also created and voiced the video game High on Life, which came out last month through his development studio Squanch Games.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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