Alright , it ’ s about that time again — to sit on the couch , relax , and have a refreshing drink . Maybe a Mai Tai because the hit animated show Archer is back in full-swing for its ninth season , subtitled Danger Island , on FXX . Starting with the first episode , “ Strange Pilot ,” we witness a twist from the very beginning — not only altering the genre of the characters — but also their appearances , like with Pam Poovey . We chatted with the voice behind Pam , Amber Nash , about her experience working on the show . BY JUSTIN GRANT
Cliché : What ’ s the experience been like working on Archer ? Amber Nash : It has been incredible . In the beginning , I didn ’ t have any idea that it was going to be as much of a hit show or as well-received as it has been , and I had no idea that Archer was going to go on for so long . So it has been amazing . I have learned a lot and I have gotten to work with some amazing people in the cast . It changed my life . It is still pretty cool that I get to live in the city where I am from and work on a hit show on FXX . It is pretty wonderful .
How has it changed over the course of nine seasons ? It changed a lot . One of the first things that kind of shook things up was that we were a regular show that was progressing season-to-season and then in season 5 , Adam Reed , the creator , was like , “ OK , let ' s really mess with things .” He started Archer by it being in a completely different world . It was set in Miami , it was very much in the ’ 80s , and it was crazy . A lots of fans didn ’ t know what to think of it . Some hated it and a lot of others loved it . After that , we went back to the regular world that we were used to for seasons 6 and 7 . Then , at the end of season 7 , Archer goes into a coma . Season 8 is set in his coma dream . Every season we are kind of rebooting and starting a completely different show with all the same characters . They all know each other in a different way , so it has been really fun for the actors to get to reimagine their characters that they have been playing for so long .
How does it feel being a part of a show that ’ s lasted this long ? It ’ s amazing . And it ’ s funny because I used to always say to people , “ Oh yeah , I am on this show called Archer ,” and now if I would say that , they respond , “ Yeah , we know what Archer is . You don ’ t have to say the show called Archer .” It ’ s funny how it ’ s such an institution now , everybody knows it , it ’ s been around for a long time . It ’ s syndicated , and they run repeats on Comedy Central , so it ’ s a dream come true . It ’ s absolutely wonderful . It ’ s fun that we get to keep it fresh by changing things around too .
What was your reaction to the new direction this season was taking and Pam ’ s new role ? I was really excited about it because last season it was kind of dark and it was really serious . Now this season it is just over-the-top and just silly . It ’ s back to just crazy Archer stuff , and I love it . I read the first episode and , I was like , “ Man , I need a Mai Tai .” It blows the world . The cool thing is Pam is kind of Archer ’ s sidekick this season , which we have never seen before . We thought of it a little bit in season 5 . It ’ s really cool that those two are like a duo and Pam is gigantic this season . She is being played as Archer ’ s Chewbacca ; she ’ s like 7-feet tall , so it ’ s been so much fun .
What are you most excited for people to see in season 9 ? The thing that I am most excited for people to see in season 9 is that people will get to see a lot of Pam ’ s body . It ' s not surprising , that ’ s been the case for a lot of the seasons . But particularly in this season , I can ’ t spoil it , but you are going to see a lot of her body .
Should fans be on the lookout for any big surprises ? Yes . There is a big surprise in the very last episode . We have been seeing what has really been going on in this world . In the end of a season , people will say , “ OK , this is what is really going on .” In this season , you will get a little bit of a glimpse into Archer ’ s brain , which is really fun . So that is something to look out for .
There ’ s speculation about the tenth season being the last . Have you thought at all about the show coming to an end ? Yeah , we thought a lot about it . Actually , we are not sure if season 10 will be the last , we are hoping we can get more seasons after that . But I have prepared myself in case the show does wrap up ... I will be really sad if it does . I really hope that we go past season 10 , I think FXX will be cool with it . But I think even if season 10 is the last one , it will be pretty spectacular . I think Adam has some really good plans but we don ’ t know them yet .
How did you get involved in voice acting ? I was a theater actor first . I was also a improviser and I still do that when I am at home . I worked at an improv theater at Dad ’ s Garage and I met the guys that make Archer now , who at the time were making a show for Adult Swim called Sealab . Then , they went on to make a show called Frisky Dingo and they knew me from doing stage work at Dad ’ s Garage . They asked me to audition for something but I wasn ’ t right for it . I ended up working for them later on another project , they kept on hiring me to do stuff , and then they hired me to do Pam . That ’ s how I got into animation .
How has that experience been different than your work in improv ? It ’ s a different muscle . When I am on stage , I am the writer , director and the actor all at the same time , so it ’ s all my stories and my creativity . With this , I am so lucky that Adam is such a brilliant writer and we get to bring these stories to life . Also I don ’ t have my whole body , I just have my voice . So it ’ s been kind of fun to bring life to a character in a different way .
Did that help at all being an improviser ? Yeah . I think so . Because you have a lot of character voices , you don ’ t always have costumes when you do improv , so you really have to distinguish your characters by their voice and mannerisms . I am used to playing a lot of characters so that definitely helped me kind of create the character Pam .
Do you have any projects coming up next ? Actually , yes . My husband and I shot a pilot for a travel show called Weird City that we are very excited about , so we will be shopping that around . And we have a short film called That Was Awesome that we shot .
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