Look, we've all been there. You finish a binge-watch of the latest season, the credits roll on some nihilistic gag, and suddenly the living room feels way too quiet. You want that specific itch scratched—the one that combines high-concept theoretical physics with jokes about interdimensional cable or sentient butter robots. But finding Rick and Morty like shows isn't as simple as clicking "Recommended for You" on Netflix. Most algorithms just point you toward any old cartoon with fart jokes, totally missing the existential dread and tight sci-fi writing that makes Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s creation actually work.
It's about the "cosmic shrug." That feeling that the universe is vast, terrifying, and ultimately indifferent to your problems, so you might as well go get ice cream.
If you're hunting for a replacement, you have to look for the DNA of the show. You need high stakes, broken characters, and a willingness to break the fourth wall without being annoying about it. Most "adult animation" falls into the trap of being edgy just for the sake of it. Rick and Morty, at its best, uses the edge to slice open deeper questions about family trauma and the burden of intelligence.
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Why Solar Opposites is the obvious first stop
If you haven't jumped on Solar Opposites yet, honestly, what are you doing? It’s the most direct sibling to the Rick and Morty legacy. Created by Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland, it shares the same frantic art style and stuttering dialogue delivery that defined the early seasons of the Smith family adventures.
The premise is straightforward but gets weird fast. A team of four aliens (and their "Pupa") crash-land on Earth. They’re stuck in middle America, hating it, loving it, and accidentally mutating the neighbors. While the main plot is great, the show hits legendary status with "The Wall." This is a sub-plot where the aliens shrink down humans who annoy them and stick them in a giant terrarium.
It evolves into a dead-serious, post-apocalyptic political drama happening inside a bedroom wall. It’s the kind of high-concept commitment that fans of Rick and Morty like shows live for. You come for the sci-fi gags, but you stay for the surprisingly emotional serialized storytelling about tiny people fighting over bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
The tonal shift is jarring. One minute you're watching a neon-colored alien vomit up a portal, and the next, you're witnessing a Shakespearean betrayal in a society built on discarded LEGO bricks. That’s the magic.
The weird brilliance of Midnight Gospel and the existential void
Maybe the sci-fi gadgets aren't what you're after. Maybe it's the philosophy. If you liked the episodes where Rick goes on a drunken rant about the nature of reality, The Midnight Gospel on Netflix is your new religion.
This show is... a lot. It’s a collaboration between Pendleton Ward (the genius behind Adventure Time) and comedian Duncan Trussell. They took real-life audio from Trussell’s podcast—interviews with spiritual teachers, death doulas, and philosophers—and animated them into the most trippy, psychedelic adventures imaginable.
- Clancy Gilroy is the protagonist, a "spacecaster" with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator.
- Each episode features him visiting a planet that is literally in the middle of an apocalypse.
- While worlds explode and flesh-monsters roam, the characters sit and calmly discuss forgiveness or meditation.
It captures that "nothing matters" vibe but leans into the "so let's be kind" aspect rather than Rick's "so let's be jerks" approach. It's visually dense. You'll need to watch it twice because the animation is doing something completely different from what the dialogue is saying. It’s experimental in a way that makes Rick and Morty look like a standard sitcom.
Gravity Falls is Rick and Morty for (slightly) younger souls
Hear me out. If you strip away the swearing and the Cronenberg-style body horror, Gravity Falls is surprisingly close in spirit. There’s a reason there are so many fan theories about Grunkle Stan and Rick Sanchez being friends. In fact, there are literal Easter eggs—Rick’s notepad and pen once flew out of a portal in Gravity Falls.
Alex Hirsch created a show that respects the audience's intelligence. It’s a mystery-box series disguised as a kids' cartoon. You have Dipper and Mabel Pines spending the summer in Oregon with their shady great-uncle, uncovering a massive conspiracy involving interdimensional demons.
The villain, Bill Cipher, is basically an eldritch horror that wouldn't feel out of place in a Rick-controlled galaxy. The writing is incredibly tight. No line is wasted. If you want Rick and Morty like shows that actually have a satisfying, planned-out ending, this is the gold standard. It’s only two seasons. You can crush it in a weekend.
BoJack Horseman and the dark side of the genius trope
We need to talk about the depression. One of the reasons Rick Sanchez resonates is that he’s a miserable genius. BoJack Horseman takes that "toxic protagonist" energy and turns it up to eleven. It isn't sci-fi, but the world-building is just as immersive. It’s a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live side-by-side, and nobody thinks it's weird that a horse was a 90s sitcom star.
BoJack is Rick without the portal gun. He’s self-destructive, brilliant in his own narrow way, and constantly hurting the people who love him.
The show starts as a goofy satire of Hollywood (or "Hollywoo"), but by season 3, it becomes one of the most profound explorations of mental health ever put on screen. Episodes like "Free Churro"—which is just a 20-minute eulogy—or "Fish Out of Water"—a silent underwater episode—show a level of creative risk-taking that rivals the best of Rick and Morty’s experimental format-breaking.
It’s heavy. It’s funny. It will make you feel like a piece of garbage, then help you understand why you feel that way.
Inside Job and the conspiracy theory rabbit hole
If you want the fast-paced, "smartest person in the room" dynamic, Inside Job is the closest spiritual successor. Created by Shion Takeuchi (who wrote for Gravity Falls and Regular Show), it focuses on Reagan Ridley. She’s a tech genius working for Cognito Inc., a shadow government organization that actually runs all the world's conspiracies.
The lizard people? Real. The moon landing? Fake (well, the moon is actually a giant prison).
Reagan has a "Rick-lite" personality. She’s socially awkward, hates her father (who is a disgraced genius voiced by Christian Slater), and is trying to make the world a better place while working for the people who make it worse. The show moves at a breakneck speed. The jokes are layered in the background, on computer screens, and in quick one-liners.
Sadly, Netflix canceled it after two parts, which is a crime, honestly. But the episodes that exist are essential viewing. It hits that sweet spot of cynical workplace comedy and high-stakes sci-fi nonsense.
Scavengers Reign: For those who want the "Alien Planet" vibe
Sometimes the best part of Rick and Morty is just looking at the backgrounds. The weird plants, the biological oddities, the stuff that looks like a fever dream. Scavengers Reign on Max (and now Netflix) takes that concept and removes the jokes.
It’s a serious, beautiful, and terrifying survival story about people stranded on a planet called Vesta. The ecology of the planet is the main character. Everything is connected in these bizarre, often gruesome symbiotic relationships.
It’s not a comedy. Not even a little bit. But it captures the wonder of sci-fi better than almost anything else. If you loved the episodes where Rick and Morty visit a truly alien world, this show will blow your mind. It’s slow-burn storytelling. It’s quiet. It’s art.
Final verdict on finding your next binge
You aren't going to find a perfect clone. Rick and Morty is a specific lightning-in-a-bottle moment where nihilism met mainstream pop culture. But you can find the individual pieces of it scattered across other series.
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If you want the humor and art style, go with Solar Opposites.
If you want the intellectual puzzles, go with Inside Job.
If you want the existential crisis, go with The Midnight Gospel or BoJack Horseman.
If you want the adventure, go with Gravity Falls.
The best way to approach this is to stop looking for a replacement and start looking for an evolution. Adult animation is in a weird spot right now where shows are getting bolder and more experimental.
Next steps for your watchlist:
- Start with Solar Opposites Season 1, Episode 7 ("The Wall") if you want to see if the "show within a show" style works for you.
- Check out Final Space for a more "space opera" feel that still has high stakes and a talking cat-alien.
- Give Smiling Friends a shot on Adult Swim if you want something that is purely chaotic and short-form, leaning into the surrealist humor that Rick and Morty occasionally touches on.
Go ahead and clear your schedule. Most of these are available on Max, Hulu, or Netflix. Just don't expect to feel "good" after watching BoJack. You've been warned.