Sterling Archer and his super-spy team will soon return forArcherSeason 8, the first of the three seasons for which the animated comedy wasrenewed. However, it’ll have a slightly different home:Chuck Saftler, president of program strategy at FX Networks, announced today during the Television Critics Association press tour thatArcherwill be moving from FX to FXX, and it has some of us wondering, Wasn’t it there in the first place?
The network is determined to continue building FXX as its comedy branch, which already includesIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,You’re the Worst, andMan Seeking Woman. The move also helps mold the tone of FX proper around more serious offerings, like the awards darlingFargo; the upcoming miniseries withTom Hardy,Taboo; theX-MenseriesLegion; andDonald Glover’s highly praisedAtlanta.
Whatever the reason, the move has been a long time coming forArcher. In 2015 the plan was for the half-hour comedy to come aboard FXX when the network was planning on a similarly animatedCassius and Clay, described asArchermeetsThelma and Louis. It would’ve focused on “two bandits looking to survive in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic American South.” However, that project was scrapped by January of last year due to poor scripts and lack of cohesion among the creative team,accordingto FX presidentJohn Landgraf.
As forArcher, that too will eventually come to an end, but series creator and showrunnerAdam Reedpromises at least three more seasons before it does. He previously explained:
I was gonna end it after 8, but then I had sort of a brain explosion of a way that I could do three more seasons and really keep my interest up. So the three seasons that are coming up are gonna be pretty different from what has come before, and they’re gonna be different from each other.
Keep an eye out for a premiere date forArcherSeason 8.
