President Curtis is a workplace sitcom about a vampire president, a werewolf press secretary, and a witch who lives in the White House basement. It is also, apparently, a show about leprechauns.
The spinoff of Rick and Morty follows President Andre Curtis (Keith David) and his staff as they face supernatural threats week after week. Episode 8, titled “Knox,” introduces Francis O’Doyle, a half-leprechaun Secret Service agent played by Jim Rash. And according to Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon, the writers have spent serious time building out the full history of the leprechaun people.
Harmon and co-creator James Siciliano wanted the show to feel more like The X-Files than Doctor Who. That meant keeping the threats grounded on Earth. But when it came to O’Doyle, they decided to treat the leprechauns as a real species, not a joke.
“We treated it almost like Star Trek,” Siciliano told Polygon in a virtual interview. “Leprechauns are an entire race of people like Vulcans.”
Leprechauns Are Ancient Hominids
The show’s lore holds that leprechauns predate humans. They are an ancient hominid species that lived through a volcanic version of Earth. Their love of gold comes from a practical source: their stomachs are capable of smelting metal, and gold is the most malleable.
“It’s not about greed and wealth, it’s about metallurgy,” Harmon explains. “They consider us lower life forms much like the way Vulcans or elves look at humans.”
The writers have spent a lot of time working out how O’Doyle’s abilities actually work. He can read auras to detect emotions, eat just about anything, and forge bullets in his stomach. Harmon says they have had many conversations with the other writers about those powers.
O’Doyle’s Mother Is a Mob Boss
O’Doyle’s backstory runs through his mother, Orla, voiced by Grey DeLisle. When Orla robs Fort Knox, O’Doyle has to dive deep into leprechaun society to unravel her scheme. That investigation leads him into a matriarchal structure.
“They’re a decentralized matriarchy, closer to spiders,” Harmon says. “The women run leprechaun mobs. They’re not quite colonies like ants and not quite black widows just eating their mates, but something in between where it’s more like [The Goonies’] Mama Fratelli.”
The comparison to The Goonies‘ Mama Fratelli is notable. That character is a crime boss who runs a family operation, and Harmon is drawing a parallel between her and the leprechaun women who run their mobs.
The Prison Escape Was Part of the Plan
The episode ends with Orla locked up in America’s paranormal prison in the Bermuda Triangle. But that was actually part of her plan. She just needed access to another inmate she wants to recruit.
Orla will likely return in season 2, giving the writers another chance to expand the show’s complex mythology.
What Makes This Lore Work
The leprechaun lore is built on a few specific principles:
- Ancient origin: Leprechauns predate humans and lived through a volcanic version of Earth.
- Metallurgy over greed: Their love of gold comes from their ability to smelt metal, not a desire for wealth.
- Matriarchal society: Women run leprechaun mobs, described as somewhere between ant colonies and spider families.
- Practical abilities: Aura reading, omnivorous eating, bullet forging in the stomach.
These details ground the fantasy in logic. The leprechauns are not cartoonish sprites with pots of gold. They are a species with a coherent history and a culture that makes sense within the world of the show.
How It Compares to Rick and Morty
President Curtis is a workplace sitcom, but it shares DNA with Rick and Morty. Both shows take absurd premises and build elaborate systems around them. Harmon’s approach here is similar to his work on the original series.
The difference is in the scale. Rick and Morty often kills off characters permanently. President Curtis, by contrast, is more forgiving.
“On Rick and Morty, a lot of people don’t survive the episode,” Siciliano says. “In this show, a lot of people come around, and they’ll pop back up five episodes later.”
That shift changes the tone. A show where characters keep coming back is warmer than one where they die permanently. It fits the workplace comedy format, where the threats are serious but the stakes are personal.
The Writers’ Process
The writers have spent significant time hashing out the leprechaun lore. Harmon says they have had many conversations about how O’Doyle’s abilities work.
The result is a mythology that feels lived-in. The show treats the leprechauns as a real species with a history, not a punchline.
Where the Story Goes Next
Season 2 is on the horizon, and Orla’s return is confirmed. Her escape from the Bermuda Triangle prison sets up a recruitment plan.
The show has also established a pattern of returning characters. People who disappear in one episode often show up again later. That continuity gives the show a sense of a living world.
| Episode | Threat |
|---|---|
| Episode 6 | Janice’s lover in the Hollow Earth |
| Episode 7 | Rho Banks becomes a cyborg |
| Episode 8 (“Knox”) | O’Doyle investigates his mother’s Fort Knox robbery |
The episode titles suggest a pattern of episodic adventures. Each week, the staff faces a new threat. The show has already dealt with vampires, werewolves, and witches. Now it has added leprechauns to the mix.
Why This Matters
President Curtis is a show about a vampire president, but it is also a show about character. The supernatural threats are the hook, but the relationships are the heart.
The leprechaun lore is a reminder of that. It is a fully worked-out mythology, but it serves the story. It gives O’Doyle a past, a family, and a culture. That makes him a more interesting character.
The show’s approach to the leprechauns is also a lesson in creative problem-solving. Instead of treating them as jokes, the writers made them real. That takes effort, but it pays off in a richer world.
The show is currently airing at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim and a day later on HBO Max.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.