Review: President Curtis “Ex”
Three episodes into Adult Swim’s President Curtis, the Rick and Morty spin-off is officially finding out how tough it is to carry an entire series on a single recurring gag. Keith David’s Commander-in-Chief remains a fun screen presence, but Episode 3 (“Ex”) shows the limits of stretching a side character into a full-time lead. While the episode has its moments, it mostly settles into a middle-of-the-road groove that relies a bit too heavily on familiar Adult Swim tropes to fill its 22-minute runtime.
Written by James Siciliano and directed by Juan Meza-León, “Ex” splits the Oval Office crew into two separate plots that yield decidedly mixed results.
The Plot
When President Curtis gets an invitation to his ex-wife Beverly’s inauguration gala, his usual bravado gives way to standard-issue ex-spouse neuroses. Heading to Chicago alongside Alan Chomps, Curtis tries to navigate a room full of rehabilitated horror icons—including Candyman and the Babadook—before a surprise attack by “Werewolves Anonymous” forces a chaotic escape using Chicago’s iconic Cloud Gate (“The Bean”) as a getaway vessel.
Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Banks (Stephanie Beatriz) and Secret Service Agent O’Doyle (Jim Rash) are “red-carded” following an operational blunder. They’re sent off to “West Wing World,” a corporate simulation facility designed to test their job performance through a gauntlet of administrative red tape.
Our Take
“Ex” isn’t a bad episode, but it feels like a show still trying to figure out what it wants to be when Rick Sanchez isn’t in the room. In the main series, President Curtis works best in small, high-density bursts of petty arrogance. Expanding him into a sympathetic protagonist facing relatable relationship insecurities makes him feel a little too generic, even with Keith David doing his absolute best to elevate the material.
The Chicago gala sequence offers a few solid visual chuckles—particularly the background gags involving horror villains turned public servants—but the “Werewolves Anonymous” action setpiece feels mostly like padding to get to the episode’s second half.
The B-plot suffers from a similar pacing issue. Stephanie Beatriz and Jim Rash have great comedic instincts, but the “West Wing World” simulation joke runs out of steam early on. We’ve seen Adult Swim parodies of corporate training and sci-fi simulations dozens of times before, and this version doesn’t add much new spin to the concept.
The Verdict
“Ex” is a functional, watchable episode of animated television, but it lacks the razor-sharp punchiness that made the pilot stand out. President Curtis still has plenty of potential thanks to its talented voice cast, but if the show wants to earn a permanent spot in the Adult Swim lineup, it needs to rely less on generic sci-fi parodies and give its core ensemble stronger material to work with.
