Rick And Morty Were Almost Called Jerry And Billy
It's safe to say that when "Rick and Morty" first debuted in 2013, no one knew what a massive pop culture staple it would become. There had been adult-oriented animated sitcoms before, but "Rick and Morty" took it to the next level. The set-up follows an alcoholic mad scientist, Rick, who tries to get his grandson Morty to go on high-concept sci-fi adventures with him. Amongst all this, there's existential ennui as Rick realizes that being the smartest man in the universe doesn't necessarily correlate with happiness.
Over the years, "Rick and Morty" has accumulated a passionate fanbase, quickly becoming one of the most popular original programs on Adult Swim. And it won't slow down any time soon as the show will hit at least 100 episodes per an outstanding order from Adult Swim. And while there's just something about the title "Rick and Morty" that rolls off the tongue, the show could've been called something much different had co-creator Justin Roiland gone in a different direction.
The names Rick and Morty worked better for their voices
Around the time "Rick and Morty" first came out, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon did an interview with Mandatory, talking all about the new show. Of course, they discuss how the show took inspiration from "Back to the Future," and in the original animated short for Channel 101, the characters were "Doc" and "Mharti." Those names eventually morphed into "Rick" and "Morty," but Roiland had other ideas before landing on those.
He admitted, "I was going to change it to Jerry and Billy. There were so many names we were throwing around and ultimately there's something just hearing Rick be like 'Morty, come on Morty, we gotta go Morty.' It was like, 'Jerry, come on Jerry' just didn't..." By the sound of it, Roiland actually used the voice to guide what the characters' names should be. He continued, "It's like 'Marty, we gotta go Marty. We we we gotta run Marty.' Now it's Morty. It's close. It almost makes me wonder, maybe we should have gone with 'Ezekiel! Come on, Ezekiel!' Rick's fine. 'Oh geez, Rick. I'm sleepin'. Rough night."
There must be something to the name "Jerry" though, because Roiland and company settled on that name for Morty's father. Maybe it made more sense for a pathetic dad than a young kid. Either way, Rick and Morty will be remembered forever and forever, a hundred years, Rick and Morty things.