RICK AND MORTY'S SECRET WEAPON IS BUILDING A “WEIRD” SCI-FI EMPIRE (Mike McMahan)

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/rick-and-morty-mike-mcmahan-solar-opposites-interview

WHAT STORYTELLING IDEAS DID YOU AND JUSTIN ROILAND TAKE FROM RICK AND MORTY, AND WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO DIFFERENTLY WITH SOLAR OPPOSITES?

The only thing we took from Rick and Morty is that when you're breaking a story, something you really want to try to get down first is the emotional story as a baseline, because otherwise why tell a story? So we were using Dan Harmon's methods and his Story Circle, but that's kind of the extent of it.

Rick and Morty is all about Rick. It's very specific to his voice, his character, and his view of the chaotic universe with his nihilism. How does he perceive reality? What does he deem important about family and about intelligence and what intelligence says about a person? Solar Opposites isn’t about any of that. It's really about family and people that want stuff but don't want to admit it, who are kind of dumb and really naive. Writing it feels incredibly different from writing Rick and Morty. Writing Rick and Morty means trying to write up to Dan Harmon so he can take it and elevate even more, which is no small task.

Nobody on Solar Opposites is dealing with anything much bigger than their immediate family, or maybe being consumed by the Pupa. And on Rick and Morty, they're dealing with big things all the time. That never just comes up on Solar Opposites.