The big news out of the Solar Opposites panel at San Diego Comic-Con is that a Halloween special is heading to Hulu this fall. Attendees were shown a clip from the episode, which finds Korvo allowing Terry to have just one single spooky decoration for the house. But as anyone who watches the series can guess, Terry’s choice really comes back to haunt Korvo… literally! But more on that later. First, let’s dive into a recap of the full panel and all of the fun tidbits that were revealed.
(Hulu)
Season 3 recently launched on July 13th and, after two seasons of non-stop insanity, fans may have felt a little more heart in their Solar Opposites content. That was intentional, with executive producer Danielle Uhlarik likening the evolution of Korvo and Terry’s relationship to that of the Friends “will they/won’t they” of Ross and Rachel. Series co-creator, executive producer, and voice of Korvo Justin Roiland added that the relationships on the aliens’ homeworld are different, so having been on Earth for some time, it’s natural that Terry in particular would be embracing human relationship dynamics.
One of many highlights in Season 3 is an episode titled “Hululand,” in which the Solars go to a Hulu-themed amusement park. This was yet another evolution of the series, with the creators praising their great partnership with the streamer. What started as a few fake products placed in the series grew into this concept that co-creator, co-showrunner, and executive producer Mike McMahan thought Hulu would hate, but they loved it. That conversation also went back to the initial pitch for the series, where Hulu was on board with some far-out concepts like “The Wall.” Another early concept that didn’t make its way into the show until this most recent season is the silver cops.
The Pupa is voiced by Sagan McMahan, son of Mike McMahan, who revealed that Sagan is actually too young to watch the show. He does, however, get to play with the characters in the mobile game Warped Cart Racers, which features the characters as part of a licensing deal with 20th Television Animation. As Sagan grows older, so too will The Pupa. Inspired by executive producer Josh Bycel’s own kids, The Pupa goes through elaborate stories to get something very simple that it wants, with hidden messages in Mad Magazine by artist Sergio Aragonés as another source of inspiration for the character’s evolution.
Terry’s ever-changing shirts were initially an homage to the Bart Simpson chalkboard gag at the beginning of The Simpsons, but there was also a real-world inspiration behind them. In his early days, Rick and Morty writer Ryan Ridley would write phrases for t-shirt companies and make a commission off the sales. He was the mastermind behind the “I Do My Own Stunts” shirt and would often wear his own creations to work, which helped give life to Terry’s unique wardrobe. Justin Roiland confessed that he recently came across a Dick Wolf shirt on Etsy, which took him a moment to realize it came from his own show. One of the favorites from Season 3 reads “Alexa Stop.” The writer's room has hundreds of t-shirt ideas and Danielle pitched a concept for a scene in which Terry is folding laundry so that they can get through more of them.
Back to that Halloween special, titled "A Sinister Halloween Scary Opposites Solar Special," when Korvo tells Terry he can pick just one decoration, he’s doing so because he hates anything spooky. Well, Terry takes things too far when he resurrects a crypt keeper who, just like on Tales from the Crypt, never tires of telling spooky stories. As a special treat this Halloween, the character is even voiced by the Crypt Keeper himself, John Kassir. This also won’t be the last holiday special, with Season 4 already in production containing yet another holiday special. Which one, however, will have to wait for another day.
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