After an excellent and completely insane season-long detour in the form of Archer Vice, the ISIS gang returns to the office in the upcoming sixth season of the animated FX spy comedy Archer, though they will no longer be working for an organization called ISIS. And while the season premiere isn’t until January, the first teaser for season six has landed online, reminding us all that Ram Jam used to be a thing.
In all seriousness, it’s going to be great to see Archer return to form after the madness of Archer Vice. There are definitely some changes afoot, as seen in the parts of the teaser that check in with Lana and Cyril, both of whom had their lives changed pretty dramatically by the events of season five. For better or for worse, though, it looks like Archer, Pam, Cheryl, Ray, Krieger and Mallory remain virtually unchanged by all the cocaine smuggling and double-crossing that they experienced last year, with the one caveat that Krieger may be getting a little better at the drums (though, in all honesty, Black Betty is hardly YYZ).
There’s nothing by way of spoilers in the teaser, though we do know a few details about the upcoming season thanks to showrunner Adam Reed. Speaking with The Daily Beast along with many key Archer players, he teased a few upcoming plotlines as well as an overall assurance that season six will “unreboot,” which will likely come as a relief to the surprising number of fans who vocally disapproved of Archer Vice‘s change of scenery. Among the upcoming goodies for fans:
The Season 6 pilot is definitely a return to the tried-and-true Archer format. Sterling finds himself marooned on a private island with a Japanese soldier from World War II who hasn’t been in contact with anyone since the war. He’s given a rude awakening when Archer brings him up to speed. “It’s our apology to the Japanese for World War II,” jokes [Archer voice actor H. Jon] Benjamin.
In the interview, voice actress Judy Greer hinted that Cheryl’s country superstar alter ego Cherlene may show up in season six. Elsewhere, Krieger may have been replaced by one of his clones (Reed and voice-actor Lucky Yates say that only they know whether this season’s Krieger is a clone or the original), and the name of his anime bride will finally be announced. Additionally, CIA agent Slater will serve as the gang’s boss in season six.
Out of the upcoming season, one highlight episode, as chosen by Reed and the producers, involves Pam’s crazy sister Edie (Alison Tolman) getting married, and the gang going to Poovey Farms, which leads cyborg Barry to crash the party. Another upcoming installment, which executive producer Matt Thompson and producer Casey Willis earmarked as their favorite, is a bottle episode where the entire gang minus Mallory are stuck in an elevator. “They think it’s a team-building exercise by Mallory,” says Reed, who laid out some other upcoming episodes:
“They go to the Alps in ‘The Archer Sanction’ because there’s an assassination. They go to Buenos Aires and Conway Stern comes back for that one. Christian Slater’s character, Slater, pops in once in a while now that they’re working for the CIA. We also meet Lana’s parents.”
All in all, it sounds like we’re in for a treat when Archer returns in January. Hold on, everyone – when this season drops, it’s safe to say we’re all going to be in the danger zone.
