Four women are making their mark on Season 3 of Rick and Morty

Jane Becker, Sarah Carbiener, Jessica Gao and Erica Rosbe are the first female writers to work on Rick and Morty. 

There have been a lot of controversies surrounding season 3 of Rick and Morty but the newest shocker is the addition of four female writers. These brave women have become half of the Adult Swim hit’s writing team. Not surprising is that their addition to the writing team caused an outcry from anxious fans who worry that the new vibe will throw the whole show off.

It turns out that at least Jane Becker was also worried about what impact she might have on the show and we’re not talking about in a good way. After all, the animation business is male dominated and so is the viewership for the show.

“It was a little nerve-racking because it has a crazy cult following and people love the show,” Becker told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was nervous to be a part of it and f**k it up.”

It’s worth noting that Adult Swim boasts an all-male group of showrunners. In fact, there are 47 of them. Men make up the majority of the network’s viewership as well.

Becker and the rest of the writing team additions weren’t exactly met with excitement from fans of the show. Many wrote on social media that they hoped women wouldn’t ruin the already-successful show.

Here are a few glowing examples of the sexism on social media. There’s also a reaction from one RIck and Morty fan who couldn’t believe it just to keep things fair.

Jessica Gao speaks about the female writers of Rick and Morty

On top of being the first female writers on RIck and Morty, this group also has the distinction of being rather new. Three of the four women writers have a very short resume. The fourth, Jessica Gao, is already breaking glass ceilings. She was the first female writer on another Adult Swim hit, Robot Chicken. 

Although she admitted that she loves the guys at Robot Chicken, Gao spoke about her experience in the writer’s room for Rick and Morty. It really sounds like they are doing something special both on-screen and behind closed doors.

"“If you’re not counting Dan and Justin it was a balanced writers room with 50 percent women and 50 percent men. That’s just incredibly rare, unfortunately,” Gao said. “More often than not, I’m the only woman in the room or the only person of color — or I’m both. So, having a balanced room just makes things a lot easier for women in the sense that you feel you can pitch things and someone else will understand you.”"

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lack of women during the first two seasons was something that Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland addressed prior to revamping the writing team. Many have commented on the lack of storyline and depth for the characters of Beth and Summer. While we’re sure the four women can tackle any part of the show, there are high hopes that they will also add depth to the female characters that just hasn’t been there in the past.

The struggle for female writers doesn’t stop with Adult Swim

Writing isn’t the only gig in Hollywood that is male-dominated but the examples are easy to point out., especially when it comes to animated series’. Mimi Pond is one of them. She is credited with writing the pilot episode of The Simpsons and always wondered why she wasn’t asked to be a part of the permanent writing staff.

In an interview with Jezebel, Pond revealed the reason that she was never hired. It turns out the simple reason she wasn’t hired hinged on her gender. The showrunner, Sam Simon, simply didn’t want to hire any women.

"“It wasn’t until years later that I found out that Sam Simon, who was the showrunner, didn’t want any women around because he was going through a divorce. It had remained a boys’ club for a good long time. “"

What about female viewers?

By and large, the viewing audience for RIck and Morty is made up of young, adult males. It makes sense that much of the writing staff would incorporate that same demographic. But what about women who watch these shows? Shouldn’t they get some representation?

There are plenty of women who watch and enjoy animated shows like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, and even Rick and Morty. The incredible (wasted) talent of Mimi Pond is just one example where the “boy’s club” missed out on an amazing writer. Why, you might ask? Sexism.

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There have been several examples of sexism in Hollywood and when it comes to the writing room, there is definitely an issue with it. The outcry from fans who really believed female writers would ruin their show just further proves the point. Thankfully, RIck and Morty creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland aren’t buying into it, which makes their show groundbreaking and definitely worth watching.