I saw the trailer for the upcoming Archer: Dreamland, Season 8, airing on FXX on April 5th. It was so intriguing; I decided that I had to get in touch with the creator of the series, Adam Reed. He was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to discuss the new season, and this ever-evolving, always unique series of new adventures set in 1947 in Los Angeles in Sterling Archer’s dreams.

Angela Shelf Medearis: How did you come up with the idea for Archer: Dreamland?

Adam Reed: I’ve always been a fan of film noir and the idea just popped into my head. Since Season 7 was set in Los Angeles, and the characters were private eyes, we wanted Season 8 to be set in 1947.

ASM: What was your process for creating Season 8?

AR: I usually start writing a few months before. Sometimes I work with other writers, but because I didn’t know how this was going to end, I had to do the writing myself.

ASM: How much input does FX have over the series concept and direction?

AR: We need approval on everything; however, FX is very collaborative and they give good notes. I’ve never had a better collaborative relationship. When I pitched it, I wanted DREAMLAND to be a drama, but they wanted it to be funny.

AR: Creating DREAMLAND was a great excuse to watch a lot of my favorite film noir movies Like the Big Sleep, Murder by Death, and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. A lot of that genre has filtered into other types of animation entertainment. I’d tell myself that I was going to just watch a scene, and wind up watching the whole movie!

ASM: What’s your process when you’re writing the series?

AR: I’ve always admired writers who have the discipline to work on a schedule. Children’s author, Roald Dahl worked every day from 10:30 a.m until 6:00 p.m. with only a break for lunch. I’m either doing nothing or writing for hours and hours at a time. I thought about writing books, but that seems super hard. I’m happy to be writing for television right now.

ASM: What profession would you pursue if you weren’t a writer or in animation?
AR: If someone waved a magic wand, I’d probably be a cabinet-maker or in wood-working.

ASM: What’s your favorite part of this new season of Archer?
AR: This season is a bit darker than previous seasons, but it will be interesting for viewers to encounter these characters again under new circumstances. It’ll be fun for folks to meet the
“new” old characters in Archer Dreamland and see their reaction!

ASM: Rumor has it that Season 10 is going to be the end of Archer.
AR: Maybe not! You never know!

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Angela Shelf Medearis

Angela Shelf Medearis a freelance lifestyle/food writer for Hearst/King Features Syndicate. She has also worked for 25 years as a children's book author, and has several animated series in development.

Latest posts by Angela Shelf Medearis (see all)

• Dreaming of ARCHER: An Interview with Creator/Writer Adam Reed - April 3, 2017