Rick and Morty (2013)

Imagine Back to the Future, but Marty and Doc are relentlessly unkind to each other as they traverse a multiverse of endless possibilities. Oh, and they famously turned into a pickle that one time. These days, it's easy to dismiss Rick and Morty as a somewhat infantile series that's out to shock, but at its best, this animated gem is an extremely inventive, deeply existential mediation on the meaning of life. For all its schwifty ups and downs, there is nothing else out there in the entire multiverse quite like Rick and Morty, a nihilistic gross-out show that refuses to play it safe.

Rick and Morty is the kind of TV show that you could play to a room of 20 people and half of them would walk out, while the other half would be in stitches. The humour is an acquired taste, but if you're into adult animated shows like F is For Family, Big Mouth, Bojack Horseman, or Futurama, you'll surely find something to appreciate in Rick and Morty. The sardonic and very dry comedy may be hit and miss, but the madcap storylines underpinning it all are often really unique and original, and you simply have to applaud the ambition and bravery of this show at times.

If you think Seth MacFarlane plays it too ‘safe’ in Family Guy and American Dad, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s Ricky & Morty might be just your cup of pickle juice. Playing initially like someone’s fever dream-induced Back To The Future fan fiction, this very adult animated series far exceeds this premise to become an uproarious send-up of all your favourite sci-fi properties and tropes as it goes on. Come for the dark humour and stay for madcap multiversal adventures, surprisingly deep lore, and TV’s most messed-up family outside of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.