Rick and Morty’s latest season experimented with different genres and styles, among them a B-movie-inspired horror episode, "Night Family".
In an interview with the LA Times, executive producer Steve Levy spoke about developing Season 6, the show’s influences, and Emmy nominations. The show follows Rick Sanchez, a mad scientist with a knack for inventing unwittingly-sinister gadgets. In the "Night Family" episode, Rick invented the "somnambulator", which forced the family to perform tasks in their sleep. However, this attempt at avoiding tedious duties backfired.
The episode was one of Rick and Morty’s first forays into the horror genre, which Levy said allowed the team to explore new storytelling avenues. "We really got to dig into what makes the horror B-movie genre special," he explained. "We were able to use lighting, color and shadows and jump scares in ways we’d never done before. As a result, the episode really stood out as one of the past season’s best ones." Levy also spoke about Rob Schrab, one of the show’s writers, and his love for B-movies. "It’s really a love letter to the movies he grew up loving," Levy said. "There’s definitely an homage to John Carpenter movies and classics like Stuart Gordon’s 'From Beyond.' The drones in the episode even look like the Daleks in 'Doctor Who.' Rob actually drew those designs. There’s also a nod to the spinning wheel in 'Sleeping Beauty.'"
"Night Family" was nominated for an Emmy, along with FOX’s Bob’s Burgers ("The Plight Before Christmas") and The Simpsons ("Treehouse Of Horror XXXIII"), Netflix’s Entergalactic, and Adult Swim’s Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal ("Shadow Of Fate"). Previously, the show has been nominated for 5 Emmy Awards and won 2. Levy also spoke about the honor he felt, "To think that our show is nominated in the same category as ‘Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal’ is such a surreal experience. He’s a real legend!"
Despite the series’ consistent success, the path to multiple Emmy nominations and wins has not been without its challenges. Most recently, creator Justin Roiland was charged with domestic violence. Along with those charges, there were multiple allegations of grooming and inappropriate interaction with younger fans.
Due to these issues, Hulu and Adult Swim cut ties with the creator, also re-casting the titular roles of Rick and Morty, as Roiland had previously voiced them both. Season 7 will undoubtedly be a challenge in many ways, but Levy believes they will succeed. "The work that we’re doing across the board has only gotten better. When the new season comes out, we’ll focus on how amazing it all turned out. We hope the fans will realize that this is the same old show, maybe even better," he exclaimed.
Season 7 of Rick and Morty is slated to release this fall on Adult Swim.
Source: LA Times