48 Fun Facts About Archer

Who created Archer?

He conceived it after his Adult Swim show Frisky Dingo was cancelled, while people-watching in a Spanish plaza.

Who voices Sterling Archer?

H. Jon Benjamin voices Sterling Archer, a role he has held since the 2009 pilot; his deadpan delivery was earlier heard as Coach McGuirk in Home Movies and Ben in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.

In the early seasons, what does the acronym ISIS stand for?

International Secret Intelligence Service: the agency was simply called ISIS until the end of season five; from season six (2015) the show quietly dropped the name after the real-world terrorist group made the initials notorious.

Which actress voiced Malory Archer until her death in 2021?

Jessica Walter, known as Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, voiced Malory from the 2009 pilot until her death in March 2021; Malory was written out of the show in season 13.

The show's creator voices which character himself?

Ray Gillette: creator Adam Reed voices the openly gay ISIS agent Ray himself; Ray debuted in the season-one episode 'Honeypot' and grew into a main cast member.

What is the title of Archer's pilot episode?

'Mole Hunt': FX sneak-previewed the pilot without promotion on 17 September 2009 after the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season premiere, then launched the series properly on 14 January 2010.

In 2017, Archer moved from FX to which sibling network?

FXX: season eight, Archer Dreamland, premiered on FXX on 5 April 2017, moving the show to FX's comedy-focused sister channel, home of The Simpsons reruns since 2014.

What was the title of the three-part series finale that aired in December 2023?

Archer: Into the Cold, a three-part special aired on FXX on 17 December 2023, closed the series after 14 seasons with one last mission for Sterling, Lana and the Agency.

Which fictional Paris-based agency, run by Len Trexler, is ISIS's main rival?

It stands for Organization of Democratic Intelligence Networks and keeps undercutting ISIS for government contracts.

What is Sterling Archer's codename?

Duchess: Malory gave Sterling the codename of her late, beloved dog Duchess, whose portrait hangs in her office, a running reminder that the dog outranked her son.

In which city was Sterling Archer born?

Tangier: Sterling was born in Tangier, Morocco, and was raised as a baby by the family's British valet while Malory was away on intelligence work.

Sterling excelled at which sport at boarding school before a gunshot wound ended his playing days?

Lacrosse: Sterling was a star lacrosse player at boarding school with a scholarship to Johns Hopkins, the sport's college powerhouse, until a gunshot to the abdomen ended his playing days.

Which handgun is Sterling Archer's weapon of choice?

Walther PPK: Sterling carries the same compact German pistol as James Bond; Adam Reed conceived him as a boorish Bond and read the Fleming novels for research.

What does Sterling call the black turtlenecks he insists on wearing during operations?

Tactilenecks: Sterling's name for his black turtlenecks, which he claims he was the first to recognise as tactical gear; he rages whenever other agents copy the look.

Sterling has a fondness for going undercover under which first name?

Randy: Sterling repeatedly adopts the first name Randy when working undercover, a small running gag the writers return to across many seasons, however unconvincing the cover is.

Which real actor does Sterling deeply admire, and who later appears on the show as himself?

Burt Reynolds voiced himself in the season-three episode 'The Man from Jupiter' (2012), dating Malory to the horror of Sterling, who idolises the star of Smokey and the Bandit.

Which word does Sterling (or someone else) shout in response to any sexually suggestive remark?

'Phrasing!' is Sterling's shout whenever a remark could be heard as innuendo; the gag was dropped in season five, with the characters openly asking whether it had been retired, and later revived.

How did Lana Kane get her job at ISIS?

She was about to throw red paint on Malory's fur coat when Malory pulled a gun; Lana alone stood her ground.

Lana Kane is usually seen carrying two of which submachine gun in shoulder holsters?

Tec-9: Lana carries two TEC-9 machine pistols in shoulder holsters and fires them two-handed; the real Intratec TEC-9 is a 9mm pistol, though the show's version sprays on full auto.

Which physical feature of Lana's is the target of running jokes like 'shovels' and 'truckasaurus'?

Her hands: Lana's unusually large hands are a running joke, nicknamed 'shovels' and 'truckasaurus'; Sterling needles her about them from the first season onward.

Lana's parents, Claudette and Lemuel, are academics at which university?

UC Berkeley: in the season-six episode 'The Kanes', Lana takes baby AJ to visit her professor parents, Lemuel and Claudette, in Berkeley, where they finally learn what she does for a living.

How is Sterling revealed to be the father of Lana's daughter?

Sperm he stored during cancer treatment: Sterling banked sperm before chemotherapy in season two, and Lana used it for IVF without asking; the reveal closed the fifth season, Archer Vice.

What is Cyril Figgis's job at ISIS when the series begins?

Comptroller: Cyril is ISIS's mild-mannered comptroller when the show begins; because he also holds a law degree, the season-seven private-eye business is licensed under his name as The Figgis Agency.

Cheryl Tunt is an heiress to a fortune made in which industry?

She went by the surname Gimble before ISIS learned about the billion-dollar Tunt fortune.

What kind of animal is Babou, the pet Cheryl keeps at her mansion and hates?

An ocelot: Babou is Cheryl's pet ocelot, a nod to Salvador Dalí's ocelot of the same name; Sterling adores the animal, while Cheryl cannot stand it.

In Archer Vice, Cheryl reinvents herself as a country singer under what name?

Cherlene: Cheryl's outlaw-country alter ego in Archer Vice, with singing by Jessy Lynn Martens; FX released a real Cherlene album in 2014 to go with the season.

Pam Poovey grew up on her father's dairy farm in which state?

Wisconsin: Pam grew up on Poovey Farms, the family dairy farm in rural Wisconsin, with her sister Edie; the farm is the setting of the season-six episode 'Edie's Wedding'.

How did Pam finance her college education?

Bare-knuckle street fights: Pam paid her way through college fighting in underground bare-knuckle bouts, which is why the ISIS head of HR can overpower trained field agents.

Pam has a stanza from which poet's work tattooed on her back?

Lord Byron: the tattoo is the third stanza of Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' (1815), beginning 'For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast', an odd choice for a Wisconsin farm girl.

Ray reveals he won an Olympic bronze medal in which event?

Men's giant slalom: Ray, an openly gay West Virginian, is a former Winter Olympian who took bronze in the giant slalom, a credential the office mostly ignores.

Sterling's long-suffering British valet, who raised him, is named what?

Woodhouse: Sterling's elderly British valet, a First World War flier and heroin addict who raised him, was voiced by George Coe until Coe's death in 2015, after which the character was written out.

Season two suggests Dr. Krieger may be a clone of whom, in a nod to The Boys from Brazil?

Adolf Hitler: Krieger was raised in Brazil and is hinted to be one of the Hitler clones from The Boys from Brazil, Ira Levin's 1976 novel in which Mengele breeds boys from Hitler's DNA.

Krieger is an obsessive fan of which Canadian rock band?

Rush: Krieger is a devoted fan of the Canadian prog-rock trio of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, dropping references to songs such as 'YYZ' throughout the series.

What is the name of Krieger's holographic anime girlfriend?

Mitsuko Miyazumi is Krieger's holographic anime girlfriend, voiced by Judy Greer, who also voices Cheryl; the pair's relationship is played as sincere, however disturbing the office finds it.

Barry Dylan is turned into a cyborg by which organization?

The KGB: after a fall engineered by Archer, Barry was rebuilt by the KGB as a cyborg in a parody of The Six Million Dollar Man and sent after the defector Katya Kazanova in season two.

In season five, Archer Vice, what are the former ISIS staff trying to sell?

A ton of cocaine: after ISIS is shut down, Malory reveals a literal ton of cocaine and the gang become drug dealers, the show's first season-long serialized story, a Miami Vice pastiche.

Sterling ends up in a three-year coma after being shot at the end of season seven by whom?

Veronica Deane, the Hollywood actress the Figgis Agency was working for, shot Sterling in the season-seven finale, leaving him face down in her pool; seasons eight to ten play out inside his coma.

Season eight, Archer Dreamland, reimagines the cast in what setting?

A 1940s film noir Los Angeles: Dreamland drops the cast into 1947 Los Angeles, with Sterling as a private eye investigating the murder of his partner Woodhouse and Malory as gangster 'Mother'.

In Archer: Danger Island, Krieger does not appear as himself; instead Lucky Yates voices what?

The parrot is named Crackers, and the season pays homage to the 1980s show Tales of the Gold Monkey.

In Archer: 1999, Sterling and Lana are co-captains of a salvage spaceship with what name?

M/V Seamus: Archer: 1999 reimagines the gang as the crew of the salvage ship M/V Seamus, with Sterling and Lana as bickering co-captains; the name nods to Seamus, the baby Sterling once believed was his son.

Archer's season four premiere 'Fugue and Riffs' is a crossover with which other animated series?

Bob's Burgers: in 'Fugue and Riffs' (2013) an amnesiac Sterling is living as 'Bob', running a burger joint with Linda and the kids, a gag built on H. Jon Benjamin voicing both Bob Belcher and Archer.

Sterling repeatedly tells Lana to call which musician because she is 'in the danger zone'?

Kenny Loggins: 'Call Kenny Loggins, 'cause you're in the danger zone' is Sterling's Top Gun gag; Loggins played himself at Lana's baby shower in Archer Vice, only for Lana to reveal she never got the reference.

Archer's animation studio, Floyd County Productions, is based in which US city?

Atlanta: Floyd County Productions, founded by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, animates Archer in Atlanta, Georgia; the character designs are drawn from photographs of live models, a hallmark of the studio's style.

Adam Reed conceived Archer shortly after the cancellation of which Adult Swim comedy?

Reed and Matt Thompson made Sealab 2021 first, then Frisky Dingo, which was cancelled in 2008.

A vacation in which country helped Adam Reed dream up Sterling Archer?

Spain: after Frisky Dingo ended, Reed took a trip to Spain and, people-watching in Salamanca's Plaza Mayor, imagined a suave spy who would have walked straight over to the women he was too shy to approach.

How many episodes of Archer were broadcast across its 14 seasons and finale?

145: the run stretched from the unannounced pilot in September 2009 to the three-part Archer: Into the Cold in December 2023, with seasons ranging from eight to thirteen episodes.

Which musician was hired by season seven to compose Archer's jazz-influenced score?

JG Thirlwell, the composer behind Foetus and The Venture Bros. score, became Archer's composer after the early seasons relied on stock library music, giving the show its jazzy, noir-tinged sound.

Which head of the KGB was Malory's long-time lover and a candidate for Sterling's father?

Nikolai Jakov, head of the KGB, was Malory's on-off lover for decades and one of three candidates for Sterling's father, alongside Len Trexler and jazz drummer Buddy Rich.