Annecy 2026 – President Curtis: the Rick and Morty spin-off is a success

A new series that sits somewhere between X-Files and The Office. We saw the first episode, and it’s quite hilarious.

The universe of Rick and Morty will expand even further with President Curtis, a spin-off which, as its name suggests, has as its hero the President of the United States, Andre Curtis. A character largely inspired by Barack Obama and who we have already encountered many times in the main series. The first episode was unveiled at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and we can already confidently tell you that it is a success. This time there is no longer – quite – a question of multiverses and cosmic adventures, President Curtis focusing on the backstage of the White House and the trio Curtis (Keith David, back), his cyborg chief of staff (Stephanie Beatriz, Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and a bodyguard doubled by Jim Rash (the dean of Community).

The absurd spirit of the parent series is still there but President Curtis seeks to find the right balance between X-Files-style paranormal investigation and pure office comedy. Clever mix that allows you to emancipate yourself slightly from Rick and Morty, while allowing yourself more down-to-earth stories. So to speak, since in the episode that we were able to discover, the plot revolves around the Apollo 11 moon landing and the fake film shot by Stanley Kubrick, which the CIA is trying to get their hands on at all costs. Why then? Let’s not reveal too much, but this adventure will take us to the Moon, where a somewhat… strange secret base is hidden.

We were very afraid that this spin-off would just be another cash machine, but creators Dan Harmon and James Siciliano still manage to surprise graphically (some brilliant visual gags) and in the writing (we really want the mystery to be solved). Enough to alleviate the lack at the end of season 9 of Rick and Morty, since President Curtis will begin the next day, July 26 in the United States. And certainly the day after at home, on HBO Max.