'Rick and Morty' Season 4: Only 5 episodes? Why you can still expect 10

Like many of us, you may have felt a little devastated when the voiceover in the Rick and Morty Season 4 trailer announced that there would only be five episodes in the new season that premieres on November 10, especially after we’ve waited more than two years since Season 3’s ending. How could Adult Swim do this to us? Is Season 4 really only five episodes?

No, it’s not, and here’s why.

“It’s been way too long,” the trailer narration teased. “The smartest Rick and Mortiest Morty in the universe are back. … Five all-new episodes start Sunday, November 10 at 11:30. Half the season you deserve — all the season we could handle.”

The folks over at Adult Swim know exactly how this sounds, and they also know zealous the Rick and Morty fan base can get. Dan Harmon has trolled fans via social media or directly through some stories on the show.

The reality of this situation is that yes, these five episodes are “all the season” Adult Swim could handle … for 2019.

In July, Rick and Morty co-creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland confirmed in an interview that Season 4 would be 10 episodes long. That remains true, especially because the trailer narration calls the first five episodes “half the season” we deserve. There are still five more episodes in Season 4, so when will those air?

Each of the first five episodes will air starting November 10 on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. Eastern, so if there are no breaks, the fifth will air December 8. Season 2 and Season 3 both ran mostly during late summer and early fall, so neither is helpful when speculating the schedule here, but Season 1 began in Winter 2013. The first three episodes aired December 2, 9, and 15. There was a month-long break and then episodes resumed on January 13, 2014. This late-December, early-January break is common for many television series, so we have every reason to expect the same of Season 4.

Therefore, Rick and Morty Season 4 will probably pick back up starting at some point in January 2020. The most likely dates are either January 5 or 12, but that’s pure speculation. We probably won’t know for sure until Episode 5 airs in December.

While all of this might seem frustrating, take comfort in knowing that with the 70-episode order, the delay between seasons will never be as long as it was between Season 3 and Season 4. Even if we have to wait for the second half of Season 4 beyond January, it won’t be for very long.

Rick and Morty Season 4 will premiere November 10, 2019 on Adult Swim.