This week, Justin Roiland, co-creator of the “Adult Swim” mega-hit “Rick and Morty,” was charged in Orange County, California with felony domestic battery with bodily injury and felony false imprisonment by threat. violence, fraud and/or deceit.
According to the felony complaint, which was reported by “Variety”, the incident occurred “on or about January 19, 2020, against an unnamed Jane Doe who was dating Roiland at the time.” She pleaded not guilty in 2020 and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on April 27. He is currently free on $50,000 bail, which was posted on August 13, 2020, and was arraigned on October 14 of that year.
case details, which include the Vulture notes “interviews, footage, abuse investigation reports, medical reports, and police reports” are currently under a protection order and have not been made public. Roiland faces up to seven years in jail if found guilty.
“It is hard to overstate how inaccurate recent media coverage of this situation has been,” Roiland’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, said in a statement to Variety. “To be clear, not only is Justin innocent, but we also have every expectation that this matter will be on track for dismissal 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 quickly as possible.”
‘Rick and Morty’ is a big deal for Warners
First of all, it is necessary to say that our thoughts must be with anyone who has been injured in this situation, since the well-being of a person is always the greatest concern, above what this may mean for the results of a company.
Discovery by Warner Bros. (wbd) – Get a free report executives must be feeling a sense of deja vu, as last time was plagued with news about the troublesome and illegal behavior of actor Ezra Miller, who was arrested for trespassing, burglary and petty theft.
WBD executives faced a lot of criticism for being seen as slow to address the charges against Miller, or for now recasting the actor (who uses they/them pronouns) in this year’s DC superhero movie “The Flash.” . Miller has not been replaced in the film, which will be released this summer.
This month, the actor pleaded guilty to trespassing in a burglary case in Vermont; and he took a plea deal to avoid jail time. As part of the plea agreement, variety notes “Miller agreed to 41 conditions, including no drinking, random drug testing, and a commitment to continue to seek mental health treatment.”
Warner Bros.’ actions related to Miller ultimately look like a combination of weathering out the storm and crisis management, and CEO David Zazlav is no doubt hoping the current situation will blow over this summer. It was a tactic that many, many people find off-putting, and it’s not certain that it will succeed, but it’s what the company landed on. But while the situation with Roiland is still playing out, it’s unclear if Miller’s playbook (regardless of what you think of him) will work in this case.
The world of #hottake can discourage complexity and reduce serious problems to a tweet. But a reasonable viewer, including a “Rick and Morty” fan, may have some concern about someone being judged by social media, while also being disgusted by the charges and deeply puzzled by the many insiders and journalists who attest that Roiland’s alleged toxicity was an open secret in the entertainment industry for years.
The fairest and most unbiased thing to say is that while many parties may want this story to go away quietly, that may not be the case as more details become public.
It’s hard to overstate how popular “Rick and Morty” is, especially among teens and 20-somethings. If you’ve walked through almost any public space in the last five years, you’ve seen a picture of mad scientist Rick Sanchez on someone’s T-shirt.
NBC News, which first broke the story, described the series as “spawning a billion-dollar media and merchandising franchise and is one of the most popular adult sitcoms on television.”
“Rick and Morty” first premiered in 2014 on Adult Swim, the late-night programming block of the Warner Cartoon Network channel. Co-created by Roiland and Dan Harmon, who at the time was best known for the cult NBC sitcom “Community” (and for being fired and rehired on “Community”), is about the adventures of Rick and his nephew Morty, both voiced by Roiland, who go on all sorts of sci-fi adventures.
Sanchez is depicted as a tough, all-knowing guy and a terrible, alcoholic guy. While the show continually points out just how toxic Sanchez is, this hasn’t stopped the character from becoming a folk hero to a certain type of internet man.
What does this mean for Warner Bros. Discover?
In 2018, Cartoon Network ordered 70 new episodes of the Emmy-winning series after its third season ended. Details of the deal were not disclosed, but in the Time Informed Deadline “Its most recent Season 3 finale delivered Adult Swim’s highest ratings ever and helped the show claim the #1 Comedy Title All Over TV for 2017 with Millennials. Rick and Morty has also become a multi-platform sensation not only on television, but also across digital, gaming, live streaming, retail and fan experiences.”
“Rick and Morty” is a big deal for Warner Bros. Discover. In addition to airing on Adult Swim, its first five seasons are currently available on HBO Max and via Hulu. (Roiland also created the Hulu series “Solar Opposites,” which premiered in 2020, and “Koala Man.”) As clunky as that may sound to some, in a world with fewer and fewer known properties and more competition for subscribers than never, no doubt WBD would like to keep it running as long as possible.
But that may not be possible.
Even if Roiland doesn’t end up going to jail, his reputation could be so tarnished that no one will want to work with him, and Harmon may have no choice but to distance himself. (Harmon, it should be noted, publicly apologized to former “Community” writer Megan Ganz for sexual harassment in 2018, due to what he says was obsessive and unwanted behavior during his time working on the sitcom)
Could a version of “Rick and Morty” work without Roiland? While Harmon could continue to serve as head writer and producer, replacing the distinctive voice behind the two main characters could prove impossible, and audiences may not accept anyone else in the roles. So no matter how much Warner wants this to go away, this month could spell the end of one of the company’s most valuable properties, as well as the ignoble end of a long-standing pop culture phenomenon.
