Tonight FX's spy comedy Archer kicked off its live tour in Los Angeles, partially to promote the brand new season starting in just a couple of weeks. Just before the live show started, the cast joked around that they would figure out what Archer Live! was by the time they got to their closing stop, New York. But in actually, the free-form style, coupled with the intimate venue and playfulness of the cast perfectly captured the spirit of the show's heart and humor.
Though FX may have a flashy new, live-action spy drama debuting at the end of the month, this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the spy series that has been thrilling audiences for the past few years. Archer cast members Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, H. Jon Benjamin, Amber Nash, and Lucky Yates, as well as series executive producer Matt Thompson were on-hand to deliver laughs, as well as some great season four scoop!
[Spoilers Ahead]
As we previously reported, Archer Live! announced the season four guest voices of Ron Leibman and Timothy Olyphant to a wider audience, but Thompson was eager to add that Anthony Bourdain would be taking a turn in the recording studio, too, playing an arrogant chef. Executive producer Adam Reed wrote the role specifically for Bourdain and then asked Tyler, who had recently had the chef on her podcast, for his email to get him the script.
Archer is known for memorable guest stars, but some of its more quintessential moments come from Sterling's over reactions to those in his life. True to form, season four promises a number of those, as it is a season of change around Sterling. And he's not the most adept at handling change!
"A moment of [Sterling's] I really love is when he faces off with a giant dog," Thompson said. "It's basically just [Sterling] talking to himself, which is always great."
We all know how much Sterling hates dogs-- well, maybe only one very specific dog-- so this may be a memorable series moment, not just season antic.
If talking to a dog sounds like Sterling has had a bit of a psychotic break, though, well, it might be from loneliness. This season his mother gets remarried, and Sterling has to deal with his parental issues in a whole new way when his mother is too busy with her new husband for him-- and her new husband turns out to have a secret of his own into which Sterling gets dragged. Additionally, though, Lana (Tyler) and Cyril (Parnell) find themselves getting back together in the middle of the season.
"I know that when we were thinking about this season, one of the underlying themes we wanted to do was isolate Archer further," Thompson said.
"Pam's still available, though!" Nash piped up.
But in all seriousness, Sterling will have to face the emptiness of his life in new ways. Personally, we are keeping our fingers crossed for another bro bonding night with Woodhouse and the Wee Baby Seamus!
Yates was proud to report that Krieger has some "hero" moments this season when "he sets up a mission in one episode" and also helps Gillette become a better, stronger version of himself. Nash shared that Pam experiences another episode in which every line she delivers is said with a mouthful of food, which meant she spent the recording studio time chowing down on cheese balls.
While the season three finale took ISIS into space, the season four finale, which Reed was breaking tonight and therefore unable to attend the event's festivities, will take it under the sea, something that thrilled Tyler greatly.
"I'm a huge Sealab fan, so I'm so f*cking excited to go back in the water!" Tyler said.
"I'm hoping there is another mop and a bucket with a face...that's all I really care about."
But while that is what Tyler is personally looking forward to most from the season, it may not be Lana's biggest moment.
"She's going through some personal changes," Tyler said, joking that it's menopause.
"I think my favorite moment of Lana so far this season that I've seen...is her climbing up the side of this building, and she looks so cool," Thompson said. "And you and Archer getting in a heated discussion, and there's some [equally] heated subtext going on that we don't want to reveal yet."
Archer returns to FX on January 17th 2013 at 10 p.m. Stay tuned right here for our advance review, coming closer to premiere.
Want more Archer news and interviews? Follow LA TV Insider Examiner on Twitter!
Comments