The "Rick and Morty" spinoff impressed me enough that I want to give it a quick review here. President Andre Curtis (Keith David) previously appeared in several "Rick and Morty" episodes as a badass, but emotionally immature Commander in Chief, who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty repelling supernatural and alien invaders. Frankly, I never took much notice of the character and it wasn't immediately apparent to me why Adult Swim and Dan Harmon would want a new show built around this guy. However, I can see the logic. The "Rick and Morty" team had a successful show based on the family sitcom formula. A workplace comedy was a natural follow-up, and what could be a better workplace in a crazy science-fiction universe for sitcom hijinks than the White House?
As you might expect, the Curtis administration is always in the middle of some kind of crisis. The President is assisted by a cyborg Chief of Staff, Rho Banks (Stephanie Beatriz), and his regular Secret Service guy, Special Agent O'Doyle (Jim Rash) who is half leprechaun. Some episodes follow President Curtis on typical presidential outings, like to Camp David, or attending the inauguration of his ex-wife Beverly (Kelsey Scott), who is the Governor of Illinois. Some episodes involve trips to the secret maximum security prison for supernatural prisoners located in the Bermuda Triangle, or fighting vampires over the receipt for the Louisiana Purchase. I appreciate that the main characters are pretty recognizable types, but not the ones you'd expect at first glance.
Curtis began as an Obama stand-in, but one with considerably less ability to keep his temper. In his own series, he's incredibly competent, but also has a bit of a Gen-X dad-trying-to-be-cool vibe, and is often blinded by his own massive hubris. His Chief of Staff is a super-smart techie, who is new to the job and eager to prove herself. Agent O'Doyle has a massive chip on his shoulder about his background, but fortunately has the chance to vent his rage regularly through extreme violence. The three of them have decent banter together, but it's the early days yet, so there hasn't been much of an opportunity to explore any of them in depth. I look forward to meeting O'Doyle's notorious mother one of these days. The humor is very Dan Harmon, replete with grandiose premises, absurd logic, and pop culture references - a sort-of reformed Candyman shows up in the inauguration episode, for what I hope won't just be for a one-off appearance.
What's nice about the show is that it hits the ground running from the pilot. There's a confidence to the writing, animation, and performances that is very evident, and it feels like I've been watching "President Curtis" for years. So far, the individual episode plots have all been solid genre stories, slowly expanding the universe and the regular cast of characters. However, what I've really enjoyed are all the little things that the showrunners have done to make the series distinctive from "Rick and Morty." The theme music is a chintzy '80s throwback instrumental similar to the "Cheers" and "Taxi" themes. Each episode closes with Curtis in the shower, singing a recap of the episode's events, and giving Keith David an excuse to exercise his pipes. There's also usually a quick after-credits gag to wrap up any lingering loose ends.
So far, the best episode is the Bermuda Triangle one, which is a classic prison escape story that could have easily worked as a "Rick and Morty" episode. There's a lot of meta-humor about how monsters are dealt with in this universe, and the whole plot hinges on an extended "Monsters Inc." reference. However, it also gives each of the main characters a chance to show off their skills in the course of all the carnage, and have some good interactions. "President Curtis" doesn't hit the same chords as its predecessor, having none of the emotional or nihilistic underpinnings of that series to work with, but I don't think it needs to. It's a different kind of show, and I'm interested in seeing what it's going to evolve into, if it gets the chance.
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