geeky
George W. Bush was played by actor Timothy Bottoms, who had a strong resemblance to the President. Carrie Quinn Dolin played Laura Bush, and Kurt Fuller played Karl Rove. It included some fictional characters as regulars: a klutzy bimbo secretary named Princess played by Kristen Milla er, know-it-all maid Maggie played by former Newhart actress Marcia Wallace (who was also known as the voice of teacher Mrs. Krabapple on the Simpsons), and a "wacky" next-door neighbor Larry played by John D'Aquino.
The series creators say that they came up with the idea for the series during the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore. Parker and Stone were sure that Gore would win the election, and tentatively titled the show Everybody Loves Al. But when the election results were uncertain, this pushed the series production schedule back. When Bush won the election, a great deal of rewriting was required.
Despite not being a ratings success, the show received some positive reviews. A New York Times critic wrote "That's My Bush! is a satire of hero worship itself; it is the anti-West Wing and the first true post-Clinton comedy. This politically astute criticism is embedded in so much hysterical humor that the series never seems weighty."
Stone and Parker claim that the series was not conceived intending to mock Bush so much as to mock formulaic sitcoms. According to Parker, the idea came about three months before the 2000 Presidential election, when the two were "95 percent sure" that Gore would be the next president. They planned the show with the same blueprint: a lovable main character, the sassy maid, the wacky neighbor. They were inspired by the British comedy Fawlty Towers. The duo wanted to write a "family sitcom" about the Bush family, but Comedy Central would not allow Parker and Stone to include the Bush twins as characters. The writers decided to turn the Bush twins character into Princess.
The show's writers decided to incorporate controversial political subjects such as abortion, gun control, the war on drugs, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the death penalty, and combine them with typical sitcom stories such as frat buddies showing up. The show was filmed at Sony Pictures Studios. The set included several rooms from the White House. The show's producers gained inspiration by going on a private tour of the White House.
Parker and Stone said that it was not their intention to "rip on" Bush or make him out to be a monster, but rather to portray him as a sweet and lovable oaf. Each episode was shot in two days. The episodes opened with a cheesy joke that segued into the theme song. The show's first episode set a ratings record (at the time) for highest debut with over 2.9 million viewers tuning in; however, ratings dropped after this, with an average of 1.7 million viewers.
According to Stone and Parker, the cost per episode was too high, "about $1 million an episode." Comedy Central officially cancelled the series in August 2001 as a cost-cutting move. Stone was quoted as saying "A super-expensive show on a small cable network...the economics of it were just not going to work." Parker and Stone believed the show would not have survived after the September 11 attacks. Parker later called the time spent doing That's My Bush! as "a great time in our lives," and "the most fun we've had in our careers."
Timothy Bottoms went on to portray George W. Bush in two later films: one in a comedic context in Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, and pme in a serious context in the 2003 TV movie DC 9/11: Time of Crisis.
The final episode involved Dick Cheney forcing Bush to step down and Bush being impeached and having to find a new job. It featured an alternate title music called That's My Dick! which, later in the episode, changed to What A Dick!
The show came out on DVD in 2006 and entire episodes of the show can be found on YouTube. Here is a video clip of the show's theme song: