Why Archer Feels Like Such A Different Show After Season 10

After a lengthy stint inside Sterling Archer's (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) comatose mind, "Archer" Season 11 brings things back to the show's equivalent of real world — or New York, anyway. The fact that the season exists at all is actually quite surprising, if you've kept up with behind-the-scenes "Archer" chatter over the years. After all, creator-writer Adam Reed's original intention was to end "Archer" after Season 8, though a new influx of ideas moved that personal deadline to Season 10. (via The Wrap). 

Because of Archer's impeding wake-up call and Reed's self-imposed 10-season limit, "Archer" had big changes in store when it was renewed for Season 11. As is the "Archer" way, the show nevertheless once again reinvented itself once again for the season –  but this time, there was one particular change between seasons 10 and 11 that changed the show's internal workings far more than you think. Here's why. 

Arguably the biggest change for "Archer" Season 11 was that Reed wasn't penning the scripts anymore. The change was somewhat gradual, though — Reed already toned down his involvement with Season 10, with writing credits on just four of the season's nine episodes. In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producers Matt Thompson and Casey Willis noted that the creator had some involvement in the early brainstorming process for Season 11, too. Even so, this season of "Archer" is the first one without writing credits for Reed. In his stead, the season's writing responsibilities were divided between Mark Ganek, Matt Roller, Shane Kosakowski, Shana Ghod, and Mike Arnold, all of whom had written for the show before. 

The change seems to have come with a few teething problems, since Season 11 has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 80 percent — which is still good, but nevertheless makes it the second-lowest rated "Archer" season. However, in an interview with Nerds Rule the World (via YouTube), Pam Poovey's voice actor Amber Nash offered a more positive take on Season 11's vibe. "This season has been written by all different people, so every episode you're like, 'oh, okay, this has got a different flavor to it'," she said. "So, it's just been a lot of fun to kind of see what other writers and other brains are doing with all these crazy characters."