The Dan Harmon Story Circle & Rick and Morty

This week we’re reposting some old articles.

Rick and Morty is nothing short of a phenomenon: the concept alone began as a one-off project meant to parody and insult Back to the Future, but has instead grown to take over the zeitgeist.

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has it ranked among his top 20 TV Shows of all time, major corporations like McDonalds and Nintendo bow to the will of ̶R̶i̶c̶k̶ the show, and the animated comedy even unseated popular mainstays like The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family to claim the spot of #1 Comedy Show among viewers aged 18-35 (ahead of its third season).

Now, over a month after the conclusion of the fourth season, we take a look back at the simple storytelling device known as the Story Circle, and then how it was used masterfully to create the highest rated episode of Rick and Morty ever.

How The Story Circle Works

1.       A character begins in their comfort zone

2.       But they have something they want

3.       So they enter an unfamiliar situation

4.       Have to adapt to it

5.       Claim what they wanted

6.       Pay a heavy price in exchange

7.       And return to their familiar situation

8.       Having changed.

The story circle is meant to track the journey of the main character as they progress through the plot, and provides a structure to help ensure that the journey we’re following is both meaningful and satisfying.

But to some, it may look a little familiar.

The story circle is Dan Harmon’s take on the hero’s journey, popularized by Joseph Campbell.

Harmon is a neurotic perfectionist – so designing a more flexible version of the Campbell story helps him know exactly where his stories are going. In a way, it’s establishing boundaries that allows Rick and Morty’s writing to be so loose.

Sound contradictory? Then consider this:

No matter how insane the story elements get, knowing the structure of the whole ensures we’re never flying off the rails.

It’s important to note that the story circle is fractal. While most commonly applied to the main character of a story, (or two characters if you have an A plot or B Plot), it can be used on a more micro or macro scale at your will.

You can even juggle more storylines – without lengthening your story – and even give an arc to an entire setting or civilization using this device.

And you can do it in a way that resonates.

What Makes The Story Circle So Effective?

The main reason the story circle works is because the structure is used constantly in our lives. In fact, more than use it, we live it – as living beings, as individuals, and as a society.

As Dan Harmon points out on his Channel 101 Fandom:

–          Life on Earth consists of an “evolutionary arms race”. Life succeeds through the death of species and habits that can’t keep up. But the result is stronger (changed) organisms.

–          Individuals consist of the conscious and the unconscious, the latter being where darker thoughts and desires are stored away. The person who locks these away without understanding them loses a piece of themselves. It’s only through journeys into our dark unconscious that we emerge more “whole” as individuals.

–          Society strives to maintain a level of order, but there are periods of chaos – such as civil unrest or war – that are necessary to be overcome. The result, if the society survives, is one that is stronger and more unified for it.

The story circles works – and resonates – because we live it on multiple levels just by virtue of being human beings.

And once you master it, you can use it to juggle storylines effortlessly – which the writers did in the highest rated episode EVER of Rick and Morty: The Ricklantis Mixup. More on that here.