President Curtis Season 1 Review: It's No Rick and Morty

This is simply a spoiler-free reappraisal of the archetypal play of President Curtis. The archetypal occurrence debuts connected Adult Swim connected July 26 and the pursuing time connected HBO Max.

For a bid that takes spot successful a multiverse of infinite possibilities, Rick and Morty doesn’t person the top way grounds erstwhile it comes to spinoffs. 2022’s Vindicators 2 was a good but forgettable short-form web bid that ne'er received a 2nd season. 2024’s Rick and Morty: The Anime debuted to middling reviews, with IGN’s Allegra Frank writing, “The dilatory pacing and wide humorlessness whitethorn beryllium hard for much casual Rick and Morty fans to tummy for 10 afloat episodes.” And present we person President Curtis, a spinoff that besides struggles successful its ain ways to seizure the magic of its genitor series. Your enjoyment of the amusement volition beryllium wholly connected however overmuch affection you person for Keith David’s character.

And, to beryllium fair, determination is decidedly immoderate entreaty to beryllium recovered there. David’s President Andre Curtis has ever been 1 of the much amusing of the galore recurring players connected Rick and Morty. As 1 of the characters successful this bid puts it, he’s a person who thinks he’s Batman. There’s imaginable successful a amusement centered astir a POTUS who’s excessively engaged beating up Paul Bunyan and staking aggravated vampires to beryllium bothered with the humdrum governmental day-to-day of his job. The thought with President Curtis is that the bid explores the aforesaid kinds of zany antics that Rick and Morty get into connected a play basis, lone seen done the lens of a straitlaced, hotheaded, yet well-meaning enactment hero.

That’s precisely what President Curtis delivers successful its archetypal season, nary much and nary less. Created by Rick and Morty veterans Dan Harmon and James Siciliano, the bid is fundamentally astir Curtis battling the benignant of terrestrial problems and threats that a antheral similar Rick Sanchez couldn’t beryllium bothered with. Each occurrence introduces a caller cryptid oregon paranormal entity that lone a no-nonsense President with an armory of fancy gadgets tin handle. The bid besides establishes a caller supporting formed of White House staffers, astir notably Curtis’ bodyguard, Special Agent O’Doyle (Jim Rash), and his cybernetic Chief of Staff, Banks (Stephanie Beatriz).

The resulting look is entertaining enough. Curtis remains a precise likable hero, 1 who’s acold much idealistic and well-meaning than we’re utilized to from this franchise. If you’ve ever recovered yourself wishing that the high-concept storytelling of Rick and Morty could beryllium tempered by 70% little cynicism and nihilism, President Curtis is your show.

It doesn’t wounded that the show’s dependable formed is truthful impressive. David, naturally, is the existent item successful that regard. His rugged yet velvety dependable ever makes immoderate fixed task radiance that small spot brighter. The writers intelligibly admit arsenic much, arsenic astir episodes extremity with a amusive small stinger of Curtis recanting the episode’s events by singing successful the shower. But Rash and Beatriz some present fantastic performances successful their ain right. Rash’s gung-ho, macho yet stoic O’Doyle is astir arsenic acold removed from Community’s Dean arsenic you tin get, yet he’s inactive precise effectual successful the role. And with Beatriz, it ne'er ceases to amaze that her bubbly, personable dependable is the aforesaid 1 that gave america Rosa Diaz connected Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

President Curtis establishes a decent look close retired of the gate. Its occupation is that it ne'er truly builds connected that look oregon finds ways to flight the shadiness of Rick and Morty. There’s a same-y prime to these episodes that builds implicit clip (as such, I wouldn’t urge binging the full play successful 1 go). It’s not arsenic if Rick and Morty has a cleanable way record, but there’s capable assortment successful presumption of code and taxable substance from occurrence to occurrence that you ne'er rather cognize what you’re going to get with each caller installment. That’s not truly the lawsuit with President Curtis. The amusement feels inherently much constricted successful scope.

It would assistance if the bid offered thing to offset this problem. Why not a much character- oregon plot-driven alternate to Rick and Morty? This spinoff is simply a spot much funny successful gathering an ongoing narrative, but lone slightly. There’s immoderate accent connected the struggle betwixt Curtis and his governmental enactment and his conflict to entreaty to fickle voters, but that lone comes into play successful a mates of episodes. For the astir part, it remains fixated connected Curtis’ play antics and the insignificant conflicts helium experiences with O’Doyle and Banks.

There’s conscionable not a batch of extent to beryllium recovered here. By the extremity of the season, I didn’t consciousness similar I had immoderate amended a grip connected Curtis arsenic a quality than I did from his archetypal Rick and Morty appearances. He doesn’t turn oregon evolve. He doesn’t payment from those stark moments of affectional penetration similar we occasionally get for Rick Sanchez and his family. His minions bash fare somewhat amended successful that regard, astatine least.

Ultimately, President Curtis is an entertaining but mostly one-note bid that feels similar it could beryllium thing more. It’ll astir apt scratch that itch for Rick and Morty fans who conscionable privation much of this beingness aft Season 9 wraps. But arsenic acold arsenic genuinely uncovering its ain individuality oregon making the astir of its rubric character, President Curtis inactive has a batch of increasing to do. We’ll spot if it beats the Rick and Morty spinoff inclination and really gets a accidental astatine a Season 2.