‘Solar Opposites’ Is ‘Rick and Morty’ Without Depression

Ever since it was announced that Rick and Morty‘s co-creator Justin Roiland and writer Mike McMahan would be making a new comedy for Hulu, fans have wondered how close it would be to their favorite show. The answer is: pretty damn close. By Solar Opposites‘ opening credits one of its protagonists has already broken the fourth wall in a rambling, angry rant reminiscent of Rick. But Solar Opposites triples down on the silliest moments in Roiland’s first show, replacing Rick and Morty’s depression, nihilism, and existentialism with a lot more humor.

It would be easy to imagine Solar Opposites as taking place in the same universe as Rick and Morty, just in a different city. Rather than being dictated and bullied by Rick’s genius, the Hulu original has the cadence of a traditional family sitcom, just with a lot more accidental murder. After their home world exploded, Korvo (Roiland) and Terry (Thomas Middleditch) fled to Earth with their younger replicates, Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) and Jesse (Mary Mack), as well as a creature known as a Pupa. Basically Korvo and Terry are parents with two kids, a stand-in dog, and no concept of the world around them.

Most episodes (all eight Season 1 episodes will debut on Hulu on May 8) follow the same general beats. Korvo and Terry misunderstand some basic aspect of the human world, whether that be a cartoon mascot or a man cave. They grossly overreact to this new object of interest, using all of the sci-fi nonsense at their disposal to create crazy robots, clone monsters, and alter time. Meanwhile Yumyulack and Jesse, true to their identities as essentially being Korvo and Jesse’s clones, freak out over some trivial high school drama. All four overreact to their panic of the day, arguing along the way. By the end of each episode everyone walks away having experienced next to no growth and learned nothing about humans. But they have wreaked a lot of havoc.

Yet as predictable as these beats are, they work. In this way Solar Opposites feels a bit like other antihero sitcoms such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Better Off Ted. You know the series’ formula, but these four are so funny and chaotic as they grapple with the world that overarching predictability becomes a strength, rather than a weakness. The more episodes of Solar Opposites you watch, the more fun it is to see the increasingly bizarre ray guns, robots, and sneakers in this quirky family’s arsenal.

But just when you think you’ve figured Solar Opposites out, there’s always a curve ball. For example, as much as Korvo nags and rants about the importance of fixing their spaceship, as the show progresses this central part of his personality comes to mean next to nothing. Korvo is just as prone to getting swept up in antics as Terry, Yumyulack, and Jesse. In fact it’s Korvo’s own intelligence that often takes these silly observations to their most intense forms. He doesn’t want to leave this weird world just like the rest of his family. And without giving too much away, the shrunken people Yumyulack and Jesse keep shoving into their bedroom wall eventually carry their own weight.

Solar Opposites isn’t as meta, intellectually challenging, or as philosophical as Rick and Morty because it never tries to be any of those things. Instead, it’s a silly show about a bunch of bumbling aliens who are content to entertain themselves with bad magic tricks. If Rick and Morty made you laugh, then Solar Opposites is sure to leave you cackling, too.

All episodes of Solar Opposites Season 1 premiere on Hulu Friday, May 8.

Watch Solar Opposites on Hulu