“They spin off so fast,” Morty (Harry Belden) sighs of the latest visitors to the garage he shares with his grandfather Rick (Ian Cardoni). “I give it 10 episodes,” Rick replies.
The scene is an obligatory, efficient passing of the baton from the characters’ namesake show “Rick and Morty,” 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. “President Curtis,” co-created by “Rick and Morty” collaborators Dan Harmon (also well-known for the cult hit sitcom “Community”) and James Siciliano, is another animated procedural that blends high concept science fiction with proudly juvenile — yet consistently sharp — humor. Keith David’s titular commander-in-chief is a recurring character on the flagship show, and there’s visual continuity between the two series’ dense jumble of 2D sight gags. “President Curtis” nonetheless announces itself as a spiritual sibling to “Rick and Morty” more in sensibility than canonical connections, to fans’ likely satisfaction.
“President Curtis” opens with a press conference in which our nation’s leader declares that “I killed Paul Bunyan today,” with David adding in his sonorous baritone: “Timber, bitch!” (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 “The Lowdown,” among other projects.) The gag is an early indication of a slight preference for the supernatural over the aliens and interdimensional creatures of “Rick and Morty,” 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. “We don’t tattle,” one character lectures another. “We’re grown-ups — we fight ninjas!”
