Later this month, Rick and Morty’s ninth season finale will usher in a new era for the Adult Swim juggernaut, as it will give one of its strongest supporting characters a series all their own. President Curtis is set to arrive on Cartoon Network to focus on the Keith David-voiced Commander-in-Chief, but he’s far from the only figure to leave an impact on the franchise. Amongst the many characters that have aided or thrown a monkey wrench into Rick Sanchez’s plans, there are a handful that would be able to shoulder the awesome responsibility of having their own series.
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5.) Bird Person
First appearing in the premiere season of Rick and Morty, Bird Person is one of Rick Sanchez’s best friends, going through quite a bit over the course of nine seasons. Since first appearing, the winged wonder has died and come back from the grave with a technological makeover, as fans learned more about the relationship between the supporting character and Rick himself via informative flashbacks. Following a wild relationship with Summer’s friend Tammy, Bird Person had a daughter who is hilariously named “Bird Daughter,” with the potential established for a bizarre family comedy that could work well as the vehicle for a spin-off. Bird Person feels like the ultimate “straight man character” of this universe, delivering all of his dialogue in a deadpan style that would work well in his own series. Considering the winged supporting character is also voiced by series creator Dan Harmon, it would be easy enough to weave an Adult Swim series focusing on his side of this universe.
4.) Evil Morty
Evil Morty isn’t exactly as “evil” as his name implies, but he certainly has been a thorn in the side of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith throughout the series. Also arriving in the first season like Bird Person, the eye-patch-wearing Morty variant slowly grew to become a powerhouse who was just as smart as Rick. The avenues that this Evil Morty could explore are far more focused on the multiverse; specifically, a potential spin-off could venture into universes that weren’t affected by Rick at all. Earlier in the Adult Swim series, the Morty variant found himself wanting nothing more than to escape any influence left behind by Sanchez. While viewers did get a brief glimpse of what a universe looks like when Rick hasn’t touched it in the slightest, it would be interesting to explore far more through the eyes of this Adult Swim antagonist, even if he is currently in a strange alien prison as of season nine.
3.) Jerry Smith
It’s hard to think of a more pathetic character in animation history than Jerry Smith, aka the son-in-law of Rick, husband of Beth, and father to Morty and Summer. Despite his many flaws that viewers have had the chance to see throughout all nine seasons, there’s also something infectious about seeing Jerry struggle in a world that routinely puts him far out of his depth. Jerry facing intergalactic threats can often feel just as hilarious as Morty’s father continuously attempting to find a new job. Ever since first appearing in the show’s series premiere, Jerry has been expertly voiced by actor Chris Parnell, who absolutely nails just how downtrodden the patriarch of the Smith family can be. While there’s an argument to be made that Jerry might work best in small doses, we can’t help but wonder if a Jerry series might be the perfect avenue to laugh at the Rick and Morty side character.
2.) Space Beth
Beth’s intergalactic doppelganger, Space Beth, who may or may not be the real Beth Smith, has had a significant role to play in recent seasons of Rick and Morty. First appearing in the fourth season, viewers of the Adult Swim series still aren’t sure which of the two Beths is the “real one,” though this hasn’t stopped the intergalactic explorer from playing a significant role in the Smiths’ lives. Space Beth has had quite an interesting relationship with her “father” throughout the series, but getting the chance to explore her without the rest of the cast would be an interesting experiment. Much like Evil Morty, Space Beth is a far different character from her double, sporting technology that routinely puts her on equal footing with her dear old dad. While this version of Beth hasn’t been shown exploring the multiverse, we could witness new corners of the main universe in unique ways.
1.) Scary Terry
Scary Terry is the least seen supporting character on this list and is clearly a parody of Nightmare on Elm Street’s legendary slasher, Freddy Krueger. While Terry himself isn’t exactly a deep character, getting his own series could explore a side of the universe that isn’t ventured into nearly as much: the supernatural. Terry could also poke fun at the slasher genre, as the horror subsection always feels right to poke fun at. As mentioned above, we haven’t seen much of Terry since his initial episode premiere, meaning there is a lot of potential to explore the past, present, and future for the slasher villain who regularly curses throughout his time on screen. Terry’s own series would also help to fill the void that has been left by Freddy Krueger himself, with the last time we saw the slasher of Spingwood being 2010 thanks to the remake. Even if none of these characters get their own side series, at least we can look forward to President Curtis later this month.
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