Which Adult Swim executive suggested that Rick be Morty's grandfather?

Nick Weidenfeld suggested that Rick be Morty’s grandfather.

During development, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon expanded their short parody of Back to the Future into a half-hour Adult Swim series. Harmon felt the show needed a family structure to support longer stories, while Adult Swim development executive Nick Weidenfeld proposed making Rick Morty’s grandfather.

That suggestion helped define the show’s central relationship: a reckless, alcoholic scientist repeatedly dragging his anxious teenage grandson into dangerous adventures. Rick’s role as Morty’s grandfather also created the domestic contrast that distinguishes the series from a simple science-fiction comedy.

A common mix-up is confusing Weidenfeld with other Adult Swim executives such as Mike Lazzo, Keith Crofford, or Rob Sorcher. Those executives were involved with the network and the show, but the specific grandfather suggestion is attributed to Nick Weidenfeld. The series grew from Roiland’s earlier Channel 101 short, The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti, before Rick and Morty became the familiar characters.