“Archer,” an animated spy spoof, premieres tonight (10:30 p.m., FX) with little fanfare and no network promotion. Basically, unless you already know about it, you wouldn’t even know about it. (In TV Guide it’s listed as “To be announced,” and my onscreen guide lists an hourlong “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”)
Here’s the story: FX wanted a six-episode season of “Archer” to accompany “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Problem was, the animation took too long to do, and the six episodes aren’t ready yet. But the network likes the two shows paired together – even for only one night – so they’re going to plop down the pilot episode tonight and wait until January to air the rest.
As for the veil of secrecy, it’s kinda a marketing ploy, a stunt to see just how many viewers stick around after “Always Sunny” and stumble across “Archer.” Not a horrible idea to grab viewers who are watching it live, but inane when you take into consideration all the people recording it who have no clue they should record an extra half hour.
“Archer” itself sounds pretty good. Described as James Bond meets “Arrested Development,” it’s about a suave but jerky spy who works for his mom and spends more time undermining co-workers that getting bad guys. It sounds vaguely like Adult Swim’s brilliant “Johnny Quest” spoof “The Venture Bros.” in content and tone, which isn’t surprising when you find out “Archer’s” creator also did Adult Swim’s “Sealab 2021” and “Frisky Dingo.” So figure it’ll be sick, twisted and very funny. And it goes without saying, it ain’t a kids’ show.
There’s great voice talent too: Adult Swim veteran H. Jon Benjamin (“Space Ghost,” “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Venture Bros.”), awesome comedian Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter (“Arrested Development”), Chris Parnell (“SNL” and “30 Rock’s” hilarious Dr. Spaceman), and the severely underrated Judy Greer (“Arrested Development,” “Miss Guided”).
If you can figure out how to get your DVR to record it (I’m just manually recording the entire hour), it sounds like a show definitely worth a look.
Here’s a sneak peek (heads-up – the language may be NSFW):
