Rick and Morty season 3 episode 1 gets surprise release on April Fool's Day: Here's how to watch the new episode

Fortunately, this is absolutely no joke

Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland have been playing games with Rick and Morty fans, teasing season three without delivering anything of any particular substance.

The duo went as far as to Rick Roll fans by announcing a first look at season three, but instead releasing old clips pieced together to form the lyrics to ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.

However, on April Fool’s Day (of all days), the first new episode of Rick and Morty was released, unannounced, on Adult Swim, leading to a frenzy of viewers tuning in.

Well, we say unannounced. On Twitter, Harmon responded to one fan asking for new episodes with the message: “What if I waved a magic wand and made the first episode from season three premiere tonight. Is that what you’d want?”

Unsurprisingly, the fan replied “Yes, that is exactly what I want, and everyone in the entire universe does too,” to which Harmon responded: “happy now mother FUCKA”.

Adult Swim was streaming the episode here on their website, but has since stopped. However, various places have uploaded the new episode, which is available below via Facebook.

The first two season are currently available on Netflix. For those who have watched, you can read our review of the premiere here. For those looking for more adult-aimed cartoon, check out our piece on five animated shows currently changing the face of television.

Alongside the new episode, a new teaser was revealed featuring the new and improved pickle Rick. Watch below.

Meanwhile, Harmon has previously spoken about why season three has been delayed longer than expected. You can read his comments in full here.