Will Colbert’s Showtime Trump cartoon be a better Lil’ Bush?

Stephen Colbert’s just-announced animated show about Donald Trump and his family for Showtime isn’t the first cartoon parody of a sitting president.

Showtime, in a statement released this week, announced that Stephen Colbert will be producing an animated show based on Donald Trump and his family. Colbert is currently the Late Show host.  A Comedy Central alum, Colbert is no stranger to satirizing world leaders. (I am personally remiss to call Trump a world leader, but that’s just me.) Colbert starred in Strangers With Candy next to Amy Sedaris, was a regular fixture on The Daily Show, and was the host of his own satirical talk show, The Colbert Report.

Showtime announced that Colbert will be executive producer on the as yet untitled Donald Trump cartoon. Late Show showrunner, Chris Licht, will also receive an executive producer credit. In a statement, Colbert said the show “will present the truish adventures of Trump’s confidants and bon vivants – family, top associates, heads of government, golf pros and anyone else straying into his orbit – intrepidly exploring their histories and their psyches, revealing insights into what makes them so definitively Trumpian.”

This isn’t the first animated show about a president made while he’s in office. That “honor” belongs to Lil’ Bush, Comedy Central’s turn at the concept. That show ran for only two seasons with a total of 17 episodes. It imagined the politicians at the time; Bush, Cheney, Pelosi, Rice, etc. as elementary school students. Their adventures centered around contemporary current events, politics, and pop culture. Climate change, LGBT rights, and Hurricane Katrina all had their moment in the spotlight on the show. Lil’ Bush currently has 5.2 stars out of 10 on IMDB.

One of the problems with Lil’ Bush was its bad timing. It premiered at the end of Bush’s second term.  It would only have two years of relevance.  That’s why it only ran for two seasons. Beginning at the start of Trump’s term gives Showtime more leg room with their take on the concept.

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The show, still untitled, premieres this fall.