Rick and Morty season 9 concludes on July 26, but fans of the Adult Swim sci-fi anthology will soon have a new series to explore. President Curtis, a spinoff focused on U.S. President Andre Curtis (Keith David), is set to premiere on July 26, following the president's battles against both occult and extraterrestrial dangers.
While Rick and Morty characters will make a brief appearance in the spinoff's premiere, largely for a meta-commentary on the nature of television series and the longevity of the original show, President Curtis is designed to stand on its own. The series introduces a new ensemble cast and focuses on President Curtis, a recurring character in Rick and Morty who has been reimagined for his own series. According to showrunner Dan Harmon, the character has been made more sympathetic, "a much better person" than his previous portrayal where he was "less motivated by the numbers than he is in the Rick and Morty universe."
The new series is described as a workplace sitcom drawing parallels to The X-Files, a departure from Rick and Morty's science-fiction family sitcom structure inspired by Doctor Who. President Curtis is supported by his new chief of staff Banks (Stephanie Beatriz), a cyborg with the ability to download new skills, and his bodyguard Special Agent O’Doyle (Jim Rash), a half-leprechaun capable of reading auras and wielding specialized monster-hunting ammunition. Harmon envisioned these three characters as a balanced trio, akin to the dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in the original Star Trek, but with a more blended approach to their archetypes. Banks is depicted as the most idealistic regarding public service, while O’Doyle, a staunch believer in hierarchy, distrusts deception and magic due to personal experiences.
Co-showrunner James Siciliano elaborated on President Curtis's character, describing him as an "outside-the-system guy" who eschews political maneuvering in favor of direct action to protect America and the world. Unlike the multiversal scope of Rick and Morty, where consequences can feel lessened by the ability to escape to other realities, President Curtis is more grounded. The show's terrestrial focus means that the stakes are significantly higher for Curtis. Early episodes will explore conflicts such as Curtis confronting the CIA over the truth of the first moon landing, occult rituals at Camp David, a clandestine prison in the Bermuda Triangle, and France's attempt to renegotiate the Louisiana Purchase.
President Curtis is scheduled to air at 11:30 p.m. ET on July 26 on Adult Swim. The following day, the premiere episode will be available for streaming on HBO Max.