'Archer' Season 10 Release Date Puts a Sci-Fi Spin on a Filthy Catchphrase

Archer is heading into outer space for Season 10 as the beloved, filthy animated series continues its recent trend of genre-hopping. With new episodes expected as early as next month (though FX still hasn’t announced a Season 10 release date), the team is ditching Season 9’s “Danger Island” safari gear for science fiction-inspired space suits. Or, in the case of everyone’s favorite Human Resources director, Pam Poovey, a giant rock monster body.

"Holy shit snacks! — Pam Poovey

That’s right, after playing a hulking version of her regular self in Season 9, Pam (voiced by Amber Nash) will transform into an actual alien rock monster for Season 10, officially titled “Archer: 1999.” She’s still the same Pam, though, even if her famous catchphrase gets tweaked slightly to match the sci-fi setting.

“This season, there’s different versions of it,” Nash tells Inverse. “Like ‘holy space snacks’ or ‘holy space shits.’”

In an interview, Nash reflects on her character’s impressive evolution over the years and offered a few hints at where Archer Season 10 might take Pam next. Read on for the full conversation, which has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Season 10 is almost here. What you can tell us about the next season of Archer?

Season 10 is set in space, we saw that at the end of Season 9. Also, Pam is going to be a gigantic rock monster. They described her as the size of a dump truck. So she’s pretty big. That’s really all I can say.

Whenever Archer moves into a different realm, it’s always still the same group of assholes that treat each other poorly as they always did, they’re just in different situations. It’s a really fun season.

I read that it’s premiering in April. Is that true? Do you know when exactly?

I don’t know if they haven’t made an official announcement yet. Not exactly. We’re not done recording it. We recorded most of it, and I’ve seen some of the artwork and it’s going to be really fun, especially for people that are kind of sci-fi nerds.

So what was it like playing a rock monster? Did you have to modify your voice at all?

Before we start recording, we usually get a call from [show creator] Adam Reed and he will kind of let us know what’s happening with our characters. In “Dreamland,” where I was a detective, he’s said, “Your character is basically based on Russell Crowe’s character from L.A. Confidential.” It’s fun to get like little nuggets like that.

But when I went into record this season I was like, “Do you guys want me to change my voice at all? Do I sound any different?” They were like, ‘Nope, you sound the same,’ which I think is fun. Because the idea is that all the characters are figments are Archer’s imagination, right? They’re just kind of approximations of people.

So no, I think Pam sounds pretty much the same as she always does. She’s just gigantic and really cute.

Do you think that Archer Season 10 is the biggest change Pam has gone through so far.

You know what’s funny about it, I think that’s what people are going to expect, but it’s not that big of a departure. As these characters change. there still at the core the same person. So she looks completely different, but she’s still just as gross and crass as she’s always been, she’s just a different species than everyone else.

There’s a little comedy from how her body works like, biologically. You know, Pam can be pretty gross, and so they play with that a little bit because she’s this like rock monster. She also has interesting genitalia that’s not necessarily male or female.

What’s your favorite part of setting Season 10 in space? Are you a big sci-fi fan?

I think that it’s pretty clear just knowing Adam Reed, he’s an extremely smart human being and he’s definitely like a big Star Wars fan, he references some of that. I, on the other hand, do not really know that kind of stuff. A lot of the time, I don’t even know what the reference is.

I think he’s pulled a lot from growing up in the 80s and 90s, and all that kind of sci-fi and that’s where it’s coming from.

You’re not the only character with a new body, right? I’m pretty sure Mallory is a floating orb in Archer Season 10.

That’s right, but I think that she also can be in human form and look like the Mallory that we know. But yeah, a lot of the time to kind of be floating orb of energy.

What’s been your favorite season of Archer and which version of Pam is your favorite?

I love so many of the recent seasons, but I think that in the early days, like Season Two and Three, Pam really comes into her own and we see her power and who she is. Those are really fun times because I think we were all learning what the show was.

I really liked Season Five, “Archer Vice,” because Pam and Archer became a duo, and I liked Season 9, “Danger Island,” because Pam is like a giant.

At the start of that season they told me that Pam would be much bigger than everyone else, and they told me that basically Pam is Archer’s Chewbacca this season. So that was a really fun thing to play around with too.

One last question: What’s your favorite Archer catchphrase?

Oh man, I think “Phrasing” is such a great classic that’s just kind of infected the world and it’s really fun, and I love “Holy shit snacks.” It’s really great, and I’m glad that I get to say it all the time. It’s fun having a character who has a catchphrase.

Archer Season 10 premieres this year, possibly in April.