Rick and Morty season 3 will unveil more of Rick's backstory

Season 3 of the cult show is finally airing, after a near-two year wait and one April Fools' prank

It's been a most punishing wait for fans of Rick and Morty, but season 3 finally looms over the horizon.

Which leaves a whole lot of pressure on the show's creator and cast to deliver something that can truly live up to the hype, though what's been teased so far sounds incredibly promising.

"Its definitely been fun for me because Rick and Beth’s relationship gets fleshed out," Sarah Chalke, who voices Beth, told The Hollywood Reporter. "You get more time with Rick and a little more insight into her childhood which is one of my favourite episodes and then obviously the separation and what that’s like for Beth."

"One of the cool things about this year is they really paired different characters together who haven’t been together before and really flesh out those relationships."

Season 2, of course, ended with Rick's rather dramatic incarceration, after he turned himself into the Galactic Federation to save the rest of the family. Rick escaped in the season 3 pilot that surprise aired on April Fools' Day, only to return to Earth and see Beth faced with an ultimatum: either her grandfather Rick stays, or her husband Jerry. Beth ultimately chose Rick and further announced she was leaving Jerry.

From there, the show's team are determined to keep pushing the envelope; co-creator Dan Harmon stating, "Anytime there’s ‘no bad guy that’s a bigger threat than this’ or 'these are the rules to sonic screwdriver,' just break those rules so the show is never based on canonical limitations. It should be based on character, and the character of a Rick is a character who can basically do anything. We made that decision very early on. It was terrifying but it also felt so good."

For US viewers, episodes will be broadcast at 11.30pm ET on Sunday nights on Adult Swim. For UK viewers, episodes will be uploaded to Netflix a week later.