Rick and Morty season 4 premiere: Who is Mike Mendel – the producer episode 1 was in loving memory of?
The show's new episode was in loving memory of someone who was crucial to the show's cult success
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Your support makes all the difference.Rick and Morty returned for its fourth season with a premiere that was dedicated to Mike Mendel.
Mendel was a producer who worked on the popular Adult Swim series, who died on 26 September at the age of 54.
The four-time Emmy winner was considered a veteran of animated shows having been a producer on 207 episodes of The Simpsons.
Following the announcement of his death, the US network, which has been home to the show since it began in the US in 2013, said: “All of us are devastated by the untimely passing of producer Mike Mendel. He guided and supported a generation of artists, writers and creators and his absence will be felt by the entire community. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues.”
Co-creator Justin Roiland said he was “devastated” and “destroyed” by the news, writing on Twitter: “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you by my side, Mike.”
Mendel’s big screen credits include the films Big, Broadcast News and Jerry Maguire, which he worked on as an associate producer.
Rick and Morty, which follows the misadventures of a mad scientist and his grandson, returned in the US on 11 November after a two-year break.
UK fans will have to wait until January 2020 to see the episode on Channel 4.
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