Showtime’s ‘Our Cartoon President’ Only Works If You’re Already Horrified By Trump’s Presidency

During Showtime‘s panel for Our Cartoon President at TCA’s 2018 winter tour, one question seemed to come up time and time again: Were the creators worried the show would normalize President Donald Trump? The show’s creators, which include executive producer Stephen Colbert, and the show itself have answered that question with a resounding no. The first segment of “The State of the Union” even features the show’s animated version of Trump addressing that concern.

“Now some are worried that this show might humanize me,” Jeff Bergman says using his top-notch Trump impression. “Well too late, folks. After my recent physical, Dr. Ronny assured me that I am a human being, and there’s no cure for that.”

It’s an answer through a cutesy dodge. Of course a show born out of the animated Trump used by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert wouldn’t intentionally help the man it’s dedicated to mocking. But it’s also an answer that reflects the underlying focus and tone of Showtime’s latest comedy. Our Cartoon President only stands as the scathing and funny takedown of the Trump administration it’s supposed to be if its audience has done their research and is already opposed to Trump.

The best way to describe Our Cartoon President is if you shoved Peter Griffin into the Oval Office. Showtime’s version of Trump is bumbling, deeply incompetent, and eager to remind the world about how he won the election by a “uge” landslide at any given opportunity. If that sounds a lot like the real deal, that’s the point, but it’s the way tthis series poses these characters and argument that makes it interesting. In Our Cartoon President, Trump, his family, and the rotating members of his administration are always the heroes, no matter what horrors they inflict upon the world. As IndieWire puts it, Trump is a bumbling sitcom dad, but the dark, sick humor of the series only comes from the realization this is how the administration sees itself while it’s driving America to its doom. It’s funny because we’re all going to die.

The tone Our Cartoon President tries to achieve is so difficult because it’s overwhelmingly dependent on its audience. In order for this comedic secret formula to work, Showtime will need to attract an audience that is both anti-Trump and Trump-obsessed. Luckily for the network, a Colbert-produced comedy dedicated to mocking the president seems like it will have the potential to attract that very audience.

I lead with all of these things because when viewed through this lens, Our Cartoon President can be funny. Some of the wider strokes the series paints, like a few of the Trump one-liners and Ted Cruz-is-gross bits, feel tired. However, the show can be both interesting and amusing when it gets specific. One of the side plots in “The State of the Union” involves Trump pouting and cutting up pictures because Fox & Friends‘ Brian Kilmeade has only given his presidency a 9 out of 10 stars. It’s a deeply stupid subplot that refreshingly feels like a late night bit that was cut for being too specific.

Likewise, the fake in-show news segments stand as one of its strengths. At one point Eric and Don Jr. are told to make the news rounds but are forbidden from talking about Russia. Of course they immediately talk about Russia before dissolving into tears and blaming their dad. It’s a moment that watches as if SNL‘s version of Eric and Don Jr. met BoJack Horseman‘s spectacular news segments, and it’s great. It’s during these moments that the show shines, moments that address a national concern on a surface level while also capturing what seems to be this administration’s confusing feelings about the scandals and controversies that plague them.

When Showtime first released a trailer for Our Cartoon President, I asked if we really needed another Trump show. Now that it’s premiered, I’m still not sure. Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, Matt Lappin, Tim Luecke, and R.J. Fried’s show demands a lot from its audience, expecting them to be well-versed in some of the Trump administration’s more subtle details for its jokes to really land. But finding and catering to that audience isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. President Trump has dominated pop culture and daily life so completely, there just may be room for a comedy that digs into his administration’s specific missteps. There’s potential in Our Cartoon President. We’ll just have to wait until February 11 to see if the show can achieve it.

Our Cartoon President premieres on Sunday, February 11 at 8 p.m. on Showtime. However, you can steam its first episode, “The State of the Union”, now.

Watch Our Cartoon President "The State of the Union" for free on YouTube

Watch Our Cartoon President "The State of the Union" on Showtime