What Dan Harmon story structure is used in many Rick and Morty episodes?

What Dan Harmon story structure is used in many Rick and Morty episodes? It is the story circle.

Harmon’s story circle is an eight-step framework for tracking a character’s movement from comfort, through desire and unfamiliar circumstances, to a changed return. It is a streamlined adaptation of the broader hero’s journey associated with Joseph Campbell. The circular shape emphasizes that the character comes back to a familiar situation, though not necessarily unchanged.

In Rick and Morty, the structure can organize an episode around Morty, Rick, or another character, and different characters may have overlapping or contrasting circles. That flexibility suits a series that often runs an emotional family story alongside a wildly escalating science-fiction plot.

The formula is a planning tool, not an inflexible rule. Writers may begin with jokes, concepts, or striking dialogue and shape the episode afterward. Story circles appeared on the show’s writers-room boards, but viewers should not assume every episode follows all eight stages in a neat order. “Hero grid” and “save the cat” are different storytelling frameworks, while three-act structure is a broader dramatic model.