Summary — A surprisingly decent premiere that embraces its Rick and Morty roots while carving out a slightly more PG tone.
I went into President Curtis Season 1, Episode 1 expecting it to be pretty bad. Rick and Morty spinoffs don't exactly inspire confidence, and I figured this would just be a weaker copy. Instead, it ended up being better than I expected.
The show is obviously borrowing heavily from Rick and Morty, and it doesn't try to hide it. They even have Rick and Morty cameo in the premiere and make self-aware jokes about the comparisons, which I appreciated more than if they'd pretended the similarities didn't exist.
The fight scenes were surprisingly well choreographed, and they did a good job recycling some of the storytelling ideas that make Rick and Morty work. At the same time, they toned down a lot of the violence, language, and edgier humor, giving it a more PG feel. I actually liked that change.
It's not a great first episode, but it's good enough that I'll watch the next one when it comes out. For a spinoff I expected to dislike, that's a win.