'Archer' star Amber Nash talks the show's big changes in season 8: 'We're always a little fearful'
First off, the show will make the move to FX's sister channel for comedy, FXX, with its season premiere on Wednesday.
Fans will remember that the shift was to occur a few years back, but didn't actually happen.
"We're always a little fearful that the audience isn't going to follow," Amber Nash, who plays Pam Poovey on "Archer," told Business Insider when we sat with her in New York City this week.
On Wednesday, FXX announced it had canceled its dating comedy, "Man Seeking Woman," after three seasons on the channel. So, it's not like FXX shows are immune from the harsh realities of TV competition. But Nash sees the move for "Archer" as a vote of confidence from the company.
"I think the cool thing is that the reason that they're sending us there is because we're a strong show and they want us to anchor their animation that they are getting into," Nash said. "And the other thing is that since the last time we were going to move there and we ended up not moving there, there's so many strong comedies on that network."
Currently, FXX's slate includes the comedies "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "You're the Worst" - both FX transplants as well.
The season takes place in Archer's mind (after being almost killed on season seven) and in 1947. He will be a private investigator who's looking into the murder of his partner, Woodhouse (who fans will recognize as an homage to Archer's deceased former butler). All the other characters will play new roles in the past period, as well.
"This is such a great time period, 1947. It looks so gorgeous," Nash said. "The crazy thing that people wouldn't know, unless they work in animation, was they had to go back and re-do all the backgrounds. They had to do all new costuming for the characters. Everything is so different and new. Over the years, the technology has changed so much. It's an incredibly beautiful show. That's super-exciting too."
Previously, "Archer" also strayed from its central story on its fifth season, titled "Archer: Vice." So Nash knows that some fans won't be happy with "Archer: Dreamland," but the actress feels that the show needs to try new things.
"When we did season five, 'Archer: Vice,' we were super-excited, because it was different. Some people loved it and some people hated it," she told us. "I think if you're a comedy [show] and you're going to stay relevant and fresh, you've got to take risks. And when you take risks, not everyone is happy. So I think it's going to happen again this season. People are going to be super onboard and people will want things to be the same."