[15] After charges of felony domestic abuse, which were subsequently dropped due to a lack of evidence,[16][17] Justin Roiland was removed from the show prior to the seventh season.
[18] Adult Swim hired two new voice "soundalike" talent for the show's titular characters,[19] announced as unknown actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden on the season premiere.
The site's critics consensus reads: "Recasting its titular pair with fairly seamless results, the famously unpredictable Rick and Morty settles into a holding pattern that nevertheless still yields plenty of amusing invention.
[24] Reviewing the first two episodes, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone noted that the characters who had new voice actors sounded virtually indistinguishable from their appearances in previous seasons.
[25] Jake Kleinman for Inverse agreed, finding the voice swap did not impact the show, but did describe the writing and trajectory of the series as disappointing.
[26] Alison Foreman, writing for IndieWire, was disappointed that the creatives chose to "maintain the status quo" rather than taking the show in a new direction even after Roiland's removal from the series.