{"id":4941,"date":"2026-07-26T15:08:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T15:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941"},"modified":"2026-07-26T15:08:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T15:08:51","slug":"rick-and-morty-spinoff-president-curtis-plays-it-safe-but-keeps-the-sci-fi-franchise-cruising-tv-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThey spin off so fast,\u201d Morty (Harry Belden) sighs of the latest visitors to the garage he shares with his grandfather Rick (Ian Cardoni). \u201cI give it 10 episodes,\u201d Rick replies.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4939\">PBS SoCal, KMEX Lead L.A. Local Emmy Wins; KVEA, KABC Land Top Newscast Prizes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe scene is an obligatory, efficient passing of the baton from the characters\u2019 namesake show \u201cRick and Morty,\u201d a juggernaut hit for Adult Swim now in its 13th year and ninth season, to its inaugural satellite. But the shared DNA is already evident. \u201cPresident Curtis,\u201d co-created by \u201cRick and Morty\u201d collaborators Dan Harmon (also well-known for the cult hit sitcom \u201cCommunity\u201d) and James Siciliano, is another animated procedural that blends high concept science fiction with proudly juvenile \u2014 yet consistently sharp \u2014 humor. Keith David\u2019s titular commander-in-chief is a recurring character on the flagship show, and there\u2019s visual continuity between the two series\u2019 dense jumble of 2D sight gags. \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d nonetheless announces itself as a spiritual sibling to \u201cRick and Morty\u201d more in sensibility than canonical connections, to fans\u2019 likely satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cPresident Curtis\u201d opens with a press conference in which our nation\u2019s leader declares that \u201cI killed Paul Bunyan today,\u201d with David adding in his sonorous baritone: \u201cTimber, bitch!\u201d (A veteran voice actor, David has long had a gift for leveraging the assumed seriousness of his natural timbre for comedy. The same skill is utilized in live action on the FX crime series \u201cThe Lowdown,\u201d among other projects.) The gag is an early indication of a slight preference for the supernatural over the aliens and interdimensional creatures of \u201cRick and Morty,\u201d though rest assured our protagonists do make the occasional trip to space. They just also interface with vampires, witches and werewolves on a regular basis, as one does when attempting to lead the free world. \u201cWe don\u2019t tattle,\u201d one character lectures another. \u201cWe\u2019re grown-ups \u2014\u00a0we fight ninjas!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tCurtis\u2019 trusty aides-de-camp in this enterprise are his new chief of staff Banks (Stephanie Beatriz), a cyborg given to overriding her own self-imposed ethics protocols, and Special Agent O\u2019Doyle (\u201cCommunity\u201d alum Jim Rash), a Secret Service member who also happens to be half leprechaun. Every episode, the trio confront a new threat that has nothing to do with <em>bo-<\/em>ring agenda items like reducing the deficit, from investigating escapes at a \u201cparanormal Guantanamo\u201d to locating Napoleon\u2019s mummified penis so France can\u2019t undo the Louisiana Purchase. (Just roll with it.) The chair of Curtis\u2019 unidentified political party may complain that her organization \u201cdoesn\u2019t care about you kicking Mothman into high-voltage fencing\u201d while inquiring after an infrastructure bill, but both the show\u2019s priorities and ours are the inverse.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tInventive and breathlessly paced, \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d brings the \u201cRick and Morty\u201d ethos quite literally back to Earth, where there\u2019s less head-spinning, stakes-nullifying multiverse material. We\u2019re mostly dealing with <em>one <\/em>version of Curtis, Banks and O\u2019Doyle, which proves more than enough given all they have on their plate \u2014 like keeping the CIA from learning the truth about the moon landing. (The Curtis administration is the stuff of conspiracy theorists\u2019 fantasies or nightmares, depending on one\u2019s point of view.) But \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d also starts in the place \u201cRick and Morty\u201d came to only gradually, after the early seasons pursued a more serialized story about Rick, an arrogant absentee father whose only sacred ideal is his own genius, reconnecting with his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4937\">\u2018Hadestown\u2019 Brings Broadway\u2019s Underworld to the Big Screen: Original Cast Members and Creator Ana\u00efs Mitchell on Reconvening for a Smashing Cinema Event<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tOver time, \u201cRick and Morty\u201d largely abandoned, or at least became much more sporadic with, thematic heft and canon-advancing events as its focus turned to sustainable longevity. From the start, however, \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d is relatively light on emotional stakes. Curtis is divorced, and still carries a torch for his ex-wife (Kelsey Scott) \u2014\u00a0now the governor of Illinois and architect of an innovative monster rehabilitation program with the Candyman (as in the movies) its star participant. But the president\u2019s love life is deployed more as a background character detail than a driving force of the overall story.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tInstead, \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d is more comfortable as a vehicle for game guest stars (like Kristen Schaal as a seemingly immortal Amelia Earhart), pop culture allusions (Anne Rice and Us Weekly enter the lexicon) and whatever elaborate bits the writers can come up with. The main cast and the domestic focus may be new compared to \u201cRick and Morty,\u201d but the general feeling is the same. This means \u201cPresident Curtis\u201d delivers more on dependability than strict innovation, though that may be what both viewers and a parent corporation looking to beef up its IP reserves on the cusp of a potential merger want. Rick Sanchez is a kid\u2019s fantasy of a zany, indulgent grandpa; President Curtis self-describes as \u201cAmerica\u2019s cool dad.\u201d It doesn\u2019t take a Rick-level genius to see the parallels.<\/p>\n<p>\n<em>\u201cPresident Curtis\u201d will premiere on Adult Swim on July 26 at 11:30 p.m. ET, with remaining episodes airing weekly on Sundays<\/em> <em>and available to stream on HBO Max the next day.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4935\">Stephen King\u2019s \u2018Carrie\u2019 Series Sets October Release Date, Drops Horrifying New Trailer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<p>\t\t\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<strong>Production:<\/strong><br \/>\nWilliams Street, Harmonious Claptrap, Green Portal Productions\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Crew:<\/strong><br \/>\nCreated by Dan Harmon and James Siciliano\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Cast:<\/strong><br \/>\nKeith David, Jim Rash, Stephanie Beatriz \t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Rick and Morty&#8217; spinoff &#8216;President Curtis&#8217; is a lateral move for Adult Swim&#8217;s hit sci-fi franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[3940,3941],"class_list":["post-4941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-president-curtis","tag-rick-and-morty"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#039;Rick and Morty&#039; spinoff &#039;President Curtis&#039; is a lateral move for Adult Swim&#039;s hit sci-fi franchise.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941\"},\"wordCount\":930,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"President Curtis,\",\"Rick and Morty\"],\"articleSection\":[\"TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941\",\"name\":\"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4941#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer","og_description":"'Rick and Morty' spinoff 'President Curtis' is a lateral move for Adult Swim's hit sci-fi franchise.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review","datePublished":"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941"},"wordCount":930,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp","keywords":["President Curtis,","Rick and Morty"],"articleSection":["TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941","name":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-26T15:08:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9c45f9d8363acba57b43fbd583dc0129.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4941#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Rick and Morty\u2019 Spinoff \u2018President Curtis\u2019 Plays It Safe, but Keeps the Sci-Fi Franchise Cruising: TV Review"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}