Copyright Screen Rant
Although Rick and Morty is one of the most acclaimed cartoon comedies of all time, there are a small handful of entries into the genre that have managed to outdo the show. Every season of Rick and Morty has its ups and downs, but the show’s consistent critical record speaks for itself. The show has earned superb reviews over the years on Rotten Tomatoes, and Rick and Morty’s highest-rated episode on IMDb boasts a staggering 9.3 rating. All this praise is well-earned, and it is easy to see why the many shows that were touted as Rick and Morty replacements never outranked the show. That said, there are other animated comedy shows that are even better than the Adult Swim hit. This might seem like sacrilege to some readers, since Rick and Morty’s critical acclaim is hard to match, let alone beat. However, from a little-known Disney XD cult classic to one of Fox’s most underrated hits, these shows can all match Rick and Morty. 6 Gravity Falls While Gravity Falls is perfect for fans of The Simpsons since it shares the blend of horror and comedy found in the show’s Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials, this short-lived Disney XD show is an even better fit for Rick and Morty fans. It is one of the only funny family-friendly shows on this list, but don’t let that deter you. Like a PG-rated sister series to Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls also stars a young protagonist who constantly gets into paranormal scrapes with a grouchy older relative. The difference is that the heroes of Gravity Falls are two twins, Mabel and Dipper Pines, and their grand-uncle Stan rarely wants anything to do with their antics unless it involves potential profit. Like Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls parodies horror, sci-fi, and fantasy tropes while following a straightforward family sitcom setup. Like the Adult Swim show, it nestles a surprisingly dark serialized story of betrayal and revenge inside its light-hearted comedic plot. However, unlike Rick and Morty, its tight, brief two-season run means it has no bad episodes. 5 Archer Archer has lasted a remarkably long time for a show that was originally conceived as a self-aware spoof of the early, campy James Bond movies. In a coup of unlikely and ingenious casting, the deadpan voice actor and comedian H. Jon Benjamin plays the titular heavy-drinking, hard-living super spy. While early seasons maintain some vague focus on espionage, later Archer outings branch out into parodying noir movies, Miami Vice, space-set sci-fi, and numerous other pop culture mainstays. A freewheeling series that has never encountered a premise too zany, Archer is effectively a deranged workplace sitcom where the workplace is a chaotic, corrupt spy agency. While Rick and Morty’s potential replacement Inside Job displayed similar promise, that Netflix hit only lasted one season before its abrupt cancellation. In contrast, Archer’s longevity means that the show has even more great episodes to revisit than Rick and Morty. 4 Futurama Speaking of shows that boast impressive longevity, Futurama predates Rick and Morty by over a decade and has managed to survive through three cancellations, 12 seasons, and four movies. Like Rick and Morty, Futurama parodies sci-fi conventions while also working as a straightforward sitcom on its own terms. However, Futurama has a bigger supporting cast than Rick and Morty, and the Planet Express crew are a big part of what makes the show shine. Futurama season 12 proves that viewers still haven’t tired of Scruffy, Amy, Hermes Conrad, and Professor Farnsworth some 26 years after they first graced our screens. It will be a while before Rick and Morty can boast the same longevity as Futurama, a series that has successfully evolved and changed with each new incarnation. Until viewers get to see some feature-length Rick and Morty movie spinoffs, the earlier sci-fi comedy series remains the best to ever do it. 3 Bob’s Burgers The fact that Rick and Morty airs on Adult Swim means the series only produces ten episodes per season, and these seasons often arrive more than a year apart. In contrast, the ever-reliable network hit Bob’s Burgers has produced between 18 and 24 episodes every year since 2011, and each season has been as stellar as the last. Although The Bob’s Burgers Movie saw the show successfully attempt to tell a bigger, more ambitious story, the show itself has mostly maintained the same limited scope that it boasted in its pilot. To some viewers, this might seem like a failure of ambition. However, I’d urge those viewers to look closer. Within the world of the Belcher family and their modest titular restaurant, the creators of the series have managed to find over 300 original, funny, inventive stories. That is a huge achievement in itself, and the fact that the show remains as heartfelt as it is humorous makes it all the more impressive. 2 The Simpsons To be clear, there are plenty of individual episodes of The Simpsons that can’t hold a candle to even the worst episodes of Rick and Mortyy. After all, Rick and Morty has produced a grand total of 81 episodes in its 12-year run, whereas The Simpsons has aired almost 800. But that’s exactly what makes it stand out. The Simpsons is officially the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history, so its bad episodes are only part of a grand, decades-long story. Even the episodes that saw The Simpsons betray their audience are still pivotal parts of TV history, since the show started the adult animation boom in the early 1990s. Without The Simpsons, there would be no Bob’s Burgers, King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-head, Archer, American Dad, Daria, Family Guy, South Park, The Cleveland Show, Mission Hill, Futurama, Disenchantment, Solar Opposites, BoJack Horseman, Sit Down Shut Up, Central Park, Krapopolis, Big Mouth, Smiling Friends, F is for Family, and yes, Rick and Morty. Thus, even though the show may have its detractors and Rick and Morty might be more popular online, The Simpsons remains a cornerstone of American pop culture. As such, the longest-standing TV sitcom earns a place on this list. 1 BoJack Horseman Only two shows listed here came to an end before Rick and Morty, and both produced significantly fewer episodes than the Adult Swim hit. However, BoJack Horseman and Gravity Falls couldn’t be more different otherwise. In many ways, the two shows represent the divergent qualities that make Rick and Morty great. If Gravity Falls is a more family-friendly version of Rick and Morty’s playful parody of genre tropes, BoJack Horseman is a more focused and thoughtful version of the show’s dramatic ambitions. Rick and Morty’s Rick Prime death was very dramatic and impactful, but none of the show’s introspective moments have plumbed the depths of this Netflix hit. A character study populated by a set of uniquely flawed, believable protagonists, BoJack Horseman blends surreal humor with achingly real, poignant character drama. The show’s tone is a one-of-a-kind sort of surrealism that could be disastrous, but instead manages to walk a tonal tightrope for six increasingly impressive seasons.
