Rick and Morty season 9 episode 10 airs Sunday, July 26, at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim, ending a 10-episode run with a finale viewers can catch live without cable. The scheduling matters because the episode is paired with the series premiere of President Curtis, turning the hour into a bundled programming event rather than a loose season end.
Madison Kemeny, a commerce reporter for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, laid out the simplest route for viewers who do not want to wait: DIRECTV offers a 5-day free trial, and Sling carries Adult Swim with one-day, weekend, or weekly passes starting at $4.99. For a one-night broadcast, those are the practical options that keep the finale accessible the same night it airs.
Adult Swim at 11 p.m. ET
The finale lands at 11 p.m. ET, or 8 p.m. PT, on Adult Swim, which keeps the timing fixed for anyone trying to watch live instead of streaming later. That matters because the episode is not being rolled out across a long release window; it is scheduled as a single broadcast moment before the next program starts.
Rick and Morty has spent the season as a 10-episode run, and the network is treating the ending as part of a larger programming push. The series is described as a two-time Emmy Award-winning animated sci-fi comedy, with Rick Sanchez and Morty at the center of the premise, but the viewer takeaway here is simpler: the season closes in one slot, and the clock is set.
DIRECTV and Sling options
DIRECTV is the cleanest no-cable route because it includes live access to Adult Swim and a 5-day free trial. Sling is the lower-cost fallback, since its one-day, weekend, and weekly passes start at $4.99 and still carry Adult Swim. That gives viewers a choice between a short free trial and a paid pass built for brief use.
HBO Max changes the calculation for anyone who misses the live airing, since the episode will be available to stream there the next day. The service can also be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu to save 42% compared with subscribing separately, which makes the post-airing path more attractive for viewers already juggling multiple subscriptions.
President Curtis follows
The odd wrinkle is that a season finale usually feels like a stop, but here it leads directly into the series premiere of President Curtis. That sequencing turns the ending into a bridge, not a full pause, and it keeps Adult Swim in control of the night’s momentum.
Michael Ouweleen said the show continues to push itself creatively and called the upcoming episodes “some of the most ambitious yet,” which fits the network’s decision to pair the finale with a launch. Viewers who want the broadcast first should use DIRECTV’s 5-day free trial or a Sling pass before 11 p.m. ET; everyone else can wait for the next-day stream on HBO Max.
