Rick and Morty turns a family sitcom into a launchpad for science-fiction chaos. Rick’s inventions can send him and Morty into another dimension or an impossible situation, while the family’s everyday arguments keep pulling the story back home. The show’s mix of absurd humour, strange worlds and complicated relationships makes it a distinctive watch.

If that combination is what you love, these ten series offer more animated adventures, eccentric characters and comedy with a sharp edge. Some head into space, some stay close to Earth, and some trade sci-fi for fantasy, superheroes or workplace satire. The countdown runs in descending order, beginning with the crew of Star Trek: Lower Decks and ending with the alien family of Solar Opposites.

For more recommendations, explore That Love Podcast’s TV and film features (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/episodes). If you enjoy our watchlists, you can support the podcast (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/donate).

10. Star Trek: Lower Decks

While most Star Trek shows follow captains and senior officers, Star Trek: Lower Decks focuses on the support crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi are trying to do their jobs, get along with one another and make their way through Starfleet life. Their ship visits strange worlds and encounters familiar science-fiction dangers, but the series keeps its attention on the junior officers who usually remain in the background.

The show’s sci-fi setting makes it an easy recommendation for Rick and Morty fans, but the comedy has a different flavour. Lower Decks is affectionate toward the Star Trek universe, filling episodes with references and ideas for longtime fans while still giving newcomers a crew to follow. Its fast pace, odd alien situations and workplace rivalries can appeal even if you haven’t watched every other Star Trek series.

Like Rick and Morty, it uses the possibilities of science fiction to create unusual comic situations. The characters might be dealing with an alien anomaly, a difficult assignment or their own rivalries in the same episode. The Cerritos also functions as a workplace sitcom, with the crew’s jobs and relationships driving the humour.

If you enjoy Rick and Morty’s space adventures but want a more team-oriented comedy with a lighter tone, Lower Decks is a strong choice. Its humour often rewards familiarity with Star Trek, but the characters’ ambitions and mishaps are easy to follow.

In the UK, the series is currently listed on Paramount+ and related channels, with digital purchase options also available. Check the latest UK streaming listings for Star Trek: Lower Decks (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/star-trek-lower-decks).

9. Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn sets out to build a life of her own after breaking up with the Joker. With Poison Ivy and a team of misfit villains at her side, she tries to establish her reputation in Gotham City while repeatedly getting caught up in the city’s superhero and criminal power struggles. The result is an adult animated comedy that treats the DC universe as a playground for character jokes, superhero satire and outrageous action.

If you enjoy Rick and Morty’s willingness to twist familiar genre conventions, Harley Quinn has a similar irreverent streak. It takes well-known comic-book characters and gives them messy personal lives, ridiculous schemes and plenty of opportunities to mock the conventions of superhero stories. Harley’s confidence is often ahead of her plans, while Ivy’s practicality offers a different energy within the central duo.

The show’s character relationships give it more continuity than a series of unrelated adventures. Harley’s friendship and romance with Ivy develop over time, and the wider group of villains builds its own comic dynamics. That provides a grounding thread beneath the violence and rapid jokes.

This series is aimed at adults, with strong language, violence and mature humour. It’s a good pick if you like animated comedy that mixes genre parody with an ongoing story and a cast of chaotic characters. Its focus is more on superheroes and villains than Rick and Morty’s science-fiction concepts, but the appetite for irreverence will feel familiar.

Check the current UK streaming guide for Harley Quinn (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/harley-quinn) for availability.

8. Archer

Sterling Archer is a talented spy whose confidence and judgement rarely match. He works for an intelligence agency filled with colleagues who are just as likely to create trouble as to solve it. The organisation’s missions involve international intrigue, but Archer’s strained relationships, workplace rivalries and overbearing mother often provide the show’s most consistent comic material.

Archer will appeal to Rick and Morty viewers who enjoy an ensemble of selfish, flawed characters bouncing off one another. Its jokes move quickly, and the spy setting gives the show a steady supply of disguises, gadgets and dangerous assignments to turn into comic situations. The characters’ personal problems are often as ridiculous as the missions they’re sent on.

The series also plays with its own format. While it begins as a spy workplace comedy, later seasons experiment with different settings and genres. That willingness to reshape the show may appeal if you like how Rick and Morty can shift from family sitcom to elaborate science-fiction story without losing its central characters.

Archer himself is an exaggerated comic lead: skilled enough to succeed, but vain and irresponsible enough to make success much harder than it needs to be. His colleagues’ reactions help turn each assignment into an ensemble comedy rather than a straightforward action story.

In the UK, Archer is currently listed on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, though available seasons may vary. Check the latest streaming information for Archer (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/archer).

7. Disenchantment

Disenchantment follows Princess Bean, a rebellious royal who would rather make her own choices than follow the rules of Dreamland. Her companions are Elfo, an optimistic elf, and Luci, a demon who is usually happy to encourage trouble. Together, they get caught up in magical mishaps, palace schemes and the strange problems of a kingdom that is not quite as impressive as it imagines itself to be.

The fantasy setting gives the show a different route to the kind of absurdity Rick and Morty finds in science fiction. Instead of aliens and parallel dimensions, Disenchantment has prophecies, kingdoms, monsters and magic. It also has a continuing storyline, so Bean’s decisions can have consequences beyond a single episode.

Fans of Rick and Morty may enjoy the show’s irreverent approach to its genre. It sends up the expectations of fantasy adventures while still building a world with characters and relationships worth following. Bean’s conflicts with her father and her companions add emotional weight to the comedy, even when the jokes turn dark or chaotic.

This is a good pick if you’re in the mood for an animated show with an ongoing story and a strong comic trio. It’s less science-fictional and more storybook in style, but the humour is aimed at adults and can get sharp. Viewers who prefer Rick and Morty’s contemporary setting may need an episode or two to settle into Dreamland.

Disenchantment is currently listed on Netflix in the UK. Check the current UK streaming listing (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/disenchantment).

6. BoJack Horseman

BoJack Horseman is a former television star trying to navigate life after the success of his sitcom has faded. He lives in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals share the same celebrity culture, workplaces and relationships. BoJack’s agent, Princess Carolyn, his roommate Todd and his friend Diane all have their own ambitions and problems, often complicated by BoJack’s self-destructive behaviour.

The show shares Rick and Morty’s interest in flawed characters and the consequences of their choices, but it is much more focused on emotional realism. Its jokes can be surreal and its world is full of visual absurdity, yet the stories often deal with loneliness, addiction, fame, responsibility and the difficulty of changing. The comedy and the darker themes sit side by side.

If you like the way Rick and Morty sometimes reveals the sadness beneath its cynical jokes, BoJack Horseman takes that idea further. It gives its characters room to hurt one another, regret their actions and try—sometimes unsuccessfully—to do better. BoJack is not an easy protagonist to root for, but the show uses that discomfort to explore how people live with the harm they cause.

The animation also gives the series a distinctive comic world. Celebrity culture, entertainment-industry egos and everyday insecurities all become part of the same setting. It’s an excellent choice for viewers looking for a smart adult animation with more emotional depth than a typical sitcom.

Check the current UK streaming options for BoJack Horseman (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/bojack-horseman). The series deals with mature themes and is intended for adults.

5. Final Space

Gary Goodspeed is an enthusiastic but often hapless astronaut serving a prison sentence in space. His life changes when he meets Mooncake, a small alien with immense destructive power. Gary becomes determined to protect Mooncake and uncover the mystery of Final Space, a threat that could endanger the universe. As the stakes grow, he gathers allies and becomes part of a larger adventure.

The show makes a good match for Rick and Morty fans who enjoy science-fiction comedy but also want a more serialized space adventure. There are aliens, strange planets and escalating cosmic dangers, but the series gives its characters an ongoing journey rather than resetting after every episode. Gary’s enthusiasm and emotional openness contrast with Rick’s cynicism, giving the show a more earnest tone.

The mix of jokes and high-stakes storytelling is part of the appeal. The series can send its characters into absurd situations, then ask them to face consequences that carry into later episodes. Gary’s relationship with Mooncake gives the adventure a simple emotional core, while the supporting crew expands the story into a larger ensemble.

Final Space is a good pick if you want animation that pairs comedy with a continuing science-fiction plot. It can become more dramatic than Rick and Morty, and its tone is more heartfelt, but both shows use space and alien worlds to tell stories that could not happen in a conventional sitcom.

A note for UK viewers: the current listing shows Final Space as unavailable for streaming in the UK. Check the UK availability page (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/final-space) for updates.

4. Smiling Friends

Pim and Charlie work at Smiling Friends Inc., a small company whose mission is to help people find happiness. The assignments sound simple: respond to a call, meet a person who is having a hard time and try to make them smile. In practice, their clients and situations are so strange that even a well-intentioned visit can become an unpredictable ordeal.

The series shares Rick and Morty’s taste for surreal comedy, but it packs its stories into short episodes and often uses a stranger, more abrupt style. Pim is optimistic and eager to help; Charlie is cynical and reluctant. Their opposing reactions give even an ordinary task a comic tension, while the people they meet can be bizarre in ways that are difficult to anticipate.

If you enjoy Rick and Morty for sudden tonal changes and unusual characters, Smiling Friends is worth a try. It mixes different animation styles, awkward conversations and absurd premises, creating a world where almost anything might walk through the door. The show is less concerned with building a consistent sci-fi universe and more interested in how far it can take a comic situation.

It is also very short-form, with episodes around eleven minutes. That makes it easy to sample, though its humour is intentionally odd and sometimes dark. It is rated for older viewers in its UK listing, so don’t let the bright designs make it look like a children’s cartoon.

Smiling Friends is currently listed on HBO Max and NOW in the UK. See the latest UK streaming options (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/smiling-friends).

3. Inside Job

At Cognito Inc., conspiracy theories are treated as company business. Reagan Ridley is a gifted engineer working to keep the secret organisation functioning, alongside an unpredictable team and her upbeat new colleague, Brett. The employees handle strange assignments while trying to manage office politics, personal relationships and the bizarre world of hidden conspiracies.

If Rick and Morty’s science-fiction ideas and irreverent jokes are what you’re after, Inside Job offers a workplace-focused alternative. Its characters deal with secret societies, cover-ups and strange technologies as part of a regular workday. The contrast between the huge scale of their secrets and the familiar irritations of office life gives the show much of its humour.

The series also uses its ensemble well. Reagan’s intelligence doesn’t make her socially comfortable, Brett’s optimism can be disarming, and the rest of the team adds more eccentric personalities to the workplace. Their relationships develop over the show, giving the comedy an ongoing story rather than a collection of disconnected conspiracy jokes.

It’s a good choice for viewers who like animated shows that combine a strange premise with character dynamics. Inside Job isn’t as philosophical as Rick and Morty, but it shares a willingness to make the world absurd and then ask how the characters are supposed to get through their day.

The UK listing currently shows Inside Job on Netflix and Netflix Standard with Ads. Check the latest UK streaming guide (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/inside-job). The series is rated 15 in the UK listing.

2. Futurama

Fry is a pizza-delivery worker from the twentieth century who wakes up a thousand years in the future after being accidentally frozen. He joins Planet Express, a delivery company run by his distant descendant, Professor Farnsworth. His new colleagues include Leela, the skilled and practical pilot, and Bender, a robot who is rarely motivated by anything beyond his own appetite for fun.

Like Rick and Morty, Futurama uses science fiction to make a comedy feel limitless. The crew can travel to other planets, meet alien civilisations and encounter bizarre future technologies. Yet its stories often return to recognisable problems: a difficult job, a strained friendship or a character who wants more than they know how to ask for.

The two shows have very different central relationships. Rick and Morty’s adventures often hinge on a grandfather’s brilliance and destructive behaviour; Futurama has a broader workplace ensemble, with Fry learning how to live in a future he barely understands. That gives the show a more conventional sitcom rhythm, even when its plots involve time travel or cosmic disasters.

The humour is clever, character-led and frequently affectionate. It can be silly, satirical or unexpectedly moving, often within one story. If you like Rick and Morty’s imaginative sci-fi but want a crew with a warmer workplace dynamic, Futurama is an excellent next series.

In the UK, Futurama is currently listed on Disney+. Confirm the available seasons on the UK streaming guide (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/futurama).

1. Solar Opposites

A family of aliens crash-lands in middle America and has to make a life on a planet they don’t particularly admire. Korvo wants to repair their ship and leave; Terry is more willing to enjoy human culture. Their replicants, Yumyulack and Jesse, bring their own rivalries and plans, while the Pupa may eventually transform the planet. Their household disagreements provide the foundation for a sitcom with an outer-space twist.

The show is a natural pick for Rick and Morty fans: it has an alien perspective on human life, strange science-fiction ideas and a cast of characters who can make a simple situation spiral into chaos. But the family setup gives it a different comic centre. Korvo and Terry are not travelling with a relative through the multiverse; they’re arguing over how to live in the same house and whether Earth has anything worth appreciating.

One of the series’ distinctive features is “The Wall,” a separate storyline about people shrunk by Yumyulack and trapped inside a terrarium. It develops into a miniature society with its own power struggles and plot twists, giving the show a serialized thread alongside the main family comedy.

If you like Rick and Morty’s combination of sci-fi absurdity and dysfunctional relationships, Solar Opposites is the clearest next choice. It has its own style and a more domestic premise, but it shares the pleasure of watching characters with wildly different perspectives collide.

The series is currently listed on Disney+ and Netflix in the UK, though season availability may vary. Check the current UK streaming options for Solar Opposites (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/solar-opposites). It is an adult animated comedy.

Which Show Should You Watch After Rick and Morty?

If you want more science-fiction comedy, start with Solar Opposites or Futurama. Both have alien worlds and futuristic ideas, but Solar Opposites keeps the focus on an alien family while Futurama follows a workplace crew. For a continuing space adventure with a more earnest tone, try Final Space—bearing in mind it is currently listed as unavailable to stream in the UK.

For surreal, fast-moving comedy, Smiling Friends offers short episodes and a very strange comic world. Inside Job keeps the odd ideas but places them in an office. Archer shifts the setting to a spy agency, while Star Trek: Lower Decks turns a science-fiction crew into a workplace sitcom. If you want genre parody, Harley Quinn sends its characters into the world of superheroes and villains.

The list also includes shows with more emphasis on character drama. BoJack Horseman explores the consequences of self-destructive behaviour, and Disenchantment builds a continuing fantasy story around its central trio. The best pick depends on whether you’re in the mood for a bigger sci-fi concept, sharper satire or a story with more emotional weight.

If this list helped you find something new, support That Love Podcast (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/donate). For partnership enquiries, visit our advertising page (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/advertise-with-us).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the closest show to Rick and Morty?

Solar Opposites is a close match for its animated science-fiction comedy and dysfunctional characters. Futurama is another strong option if you want inventive sci-fi stories, with more emphasis on a workplace ensemble.

Which show has the most similar humour?

That depends on which part of Rick and Morty you enjoy. Smiling Friends has surreal, unpredictable comedy; Archer has fast dialogue and dysfunctional characters; Solar Opposites shares the alien-sitcom premise.

Which recommendation has the most science fiction?

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Final Space, Futurama, Inside Job and Solar Opposites all use science-fiction settings. Rick and Morty fans may find Futurama and Solar Opposites the easiest transitions.

Which show is the most emotional?

BoJack Horseman is the most focused on difficult emotions and the consequences of a character’s choices. Final Space also develops an ongoing, heartfelt adventure alongside its comedy.

Is Solar Opposites connected to Rick and Morty?

They are separate animated series, but both feature science-fiction comedy and unusual characters. Solar Opposites follows an alien family trying to live on Earth rather than Rick and Morty’s interdimensional adventures.

Which series is best for superhero fans?

Harley Quinn is the superhero-focused pick on this list. It follows Harley and a group of villains in Gotham, using adult comedy and genre satire.

Is Star Trek: Lower Decks easy to watch without knowing Star Trek?

Yes. The comedy centres on the junior crew’s jobs and relationships, so the basic stories are easy to follow. Fans of the franchise will recognise more references, but prior viewing isn’t essential to understand the main characters.

Can I stream Final Space in the UK?

The current UK listing shows Final Space as unavailable for streaming. Check the linked JustWatch page (https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/final-space) for updates.

Which shows on this list are for adults?

Several contain adult humour or themes, including Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Smiling Friends, Archer, BoJack Horseman, Harley Quinn and Inside Job. Always check the UK age rating and episode guidance before watching with younger viewers.

What should I watch first?

Try Solar Opposites for an alien-family comedy, Futurama for a workplace in a science-fiction future, or Smiling Friends for short, surreal episodes. If you want a bigger emotional story, start with BoJack Horseman.

Explore That Love Podcast’s TV and film recommendations (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/episodes), including animated series for family viewing (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/post/12-animated-series-for-family-summers-vibrant-adventures-for-all-ages) and feel-good comfort TV (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/post/feel-good-comfort-tv-series-watchlist). For cast information and episode guides, visit IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/); for reviews, browse Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/); and for current UK streaming services, check JustWatch (https://www.justwatch.com/uk).

Sign up through That Love Podcast (https://www.thatlovepodcast.com/) for more watchlists and entertainment features.

12 SEO Title Alternatives

1. 10 Best TV Shows to Watch If You Love Rick and Morty

2. Love Rick and Morty? Watch These 10 Animated Series Next

3. 10 Shows Like Rick and Morty for Your Next Binge

4. What to Watch After Rick and Morty: 10 Great Picks

5. The Best Animated Shows for Rick and Morty Fans

6. 10 Sci-Fi Comedies to Watch If You Love Rick and Morty

7. From Solar Opposites to Futurama: 10 Shows for Rick and Morty Fans

8. 10 Adult Animated Series with Weird Worlds and Big Laughs

9. The 10 Best Shows Like Rick and Morty, Ranked

10. 10 Brilliant Animated Comedies to Watch After Rick and Morty

11. 10 TV Shows for Fans of Rick, Morty and Interdimensional Chaos

12. 10 Surreal Animated Shows to Binge After Rick and Morty

More Places to Find Great Movies and TV Shows

If you're on the hunt for your next favorite TV show or movie, there's no shortage of resources to help you discover something worth watching. Whether you're looking for a new release, an underrated gem, or a timeless classic, these websites are useful places to continue your search:

1. ScreenRant – Your go-to source for the latest news, reviews, and insights on movies, TV shows, and entertainment trends.

2. CBR (Comic Book Resources) – A top destination for comic, movie, and TV news, with engaging updates for pop-culture fans.

3. Collider – Find movie news, trailers, and reviews covering the latest Hollywood releases.

4. IMDb – Explore cast details, trivia, ratings, and reviews for films and television.

5. Rotten Tomatoes – Browse movie and TV reviews, critic scores, audience ratings, and recommendations.

6. MovieWeb – Keep up with movie news, trailers, and reviews.

7. Slash Film – Read film and television news, reviews, features, and in-depth entertainment coverage.

8. Comic Book Movie – Follow comic-book, superhero movie, and related television news.