Solar opposites attract as new and fun Hulu channels Rick and Morty

Do you like Rick and Morty? Well, there’s more (ty) where that came from. Solar Opposites is a new animated comedy by two of the creators of Rick and Morty, and the two shows are definitely not opposites: solar or otherwise.

Even if you’ve never seen Rick and Morty before, Solar Opposites are worth checking out for their sci-fi craziness, relentless gags, and surreal antics.

Created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, the new series premieres on May 8 on Hulu. Follow the adventures of a family of aliens abandoned in the suburbs after the destruction of their home planet, Schlorp. Grumpy Korvo and Goofy Terry are the parents, with two children fending off bullies (and teachers) at the local high school. A pupa like a baby is the baby of the family, and could also mean the death of planet Earth.

The setting is quite recognizable from a million suburban sitcoms about a family that puts the fun in dysfunctional. In fact, Solar Opposites takes comical situations like making friends at school, building a men’s cave, buying a Jet Ski, shrinking your enemies, stepping back in time, fighting a killer red goblin spat out from inside your alien body. . , everyday things. Vague real-world problems almost immediately go wild as a combination of staggeringly advanced science fiction technology and staggeringly advanced deformation of stupidity that brings each story to a dizzyingly epic climax.

So yeah, it’s not a million light years from Rick and Morty. Not only do the surreal stories spill over from the unintended consequences of technological overreach, but the animation style is the same as well, even to teary eyes, and the voices also ring a bell as the grumpy character is brought back to life by Justin Roiland’s free barking.

The show also shares Rick and Morty’s obsession with television, creating crazy fiction shows within the show and winking at the fourth wall as the characters admit they are learning life lessons for each other or demand to be featured on a montage.

Oh, and there is a lot of blood.

I like very much. Just like in Rick and Morty, red cartoon stuff is splashed everywhere when Solar Opposites grotesquely murders supporting characters from left to right, and sometimes also leading characters. Both shows can get away with the innovative, over-the-top and often hilarious splatter because they’re cartoons, but it’s also part of a general philosophy of dealing serious things lightly while applying real thought to seemingly frivolous nonsense. What starts out a bit silly often continues into unexpected tangents that are surprisingly and comically well thought out.

So an almost disposable gag in the first episode is revealed to be a disturbingly important subplot that ends up taking over an entire episode. In fact, for a show about aliens throwing keggers, it’s often incredibly bold.

If there is any difference between Solar Opposites and Rick and Morty, it’s that the new show is probably less crazy. While the stories go to quirky places, the solar opposites remain largely terrestrial rather than spread across the confines of the multiverse. Locations also don’t go that far, nor do the philosophical questions asked. Beneath the madness of science fiction, the emotional arc is about what it means to be a family. So it doesn’t have the level of desolation of Rick and Morty, which goes to some pretty dark philosophical places. All in all, Solar Opposites is probably the more accessible of the two shows.

While still completely crazy, obviously.