Archer’s 10th season will be its last

Adam Reed, creator and writer of Archer, says the cartoon series will end with its 10th season.

In a recent episode of Murmur, a podcast from the Modern School of Film, Reed was asked by host Robert Milazzo about the future of the program. After a discussion of the enduring appeal — and questionable quality — of The Simpsons earlier in the program, host Milazzo asked Reed as gently as he could about the future of Archer.

“Can a show go on too long?” Milazzo asked, wondering out loud if Reed and his business partner Matt Thompson ever discuss the end of the hit show.

“The plan is to end Archer after season 10,” Reed blurted out. “I don’t know that anybody has talked about that, but that is definitely my plan — to do eight, nine and 10. They’re going be each shorter seasons of just eight episodes, and then wind it up.

“I was gonna end it after [season] eight, but then I had sort of a brain explosion of a way that I could do three more seasons and really keep my interest up. So, the three seasons that are coming up are gonna be pretty different from what has come before, and they’re gonna be different from each other.”

Archer’s fifth season saw the nearly the entire team become cocaine dealers, while the seventh season — which concluded in June — was set in Los Angeles.

Reed said that the writing process, for which he bears almost all of the responsibility, is incredibly draining. That, in part, is why the seasons will be shorter than the standard 13-episode run.

“I don’t see how these shows that do 22 episodes a year. I don’t see how they do it. My hat is off to them,” Reed said “It fascinates me that people are able to do that. I can barely limp to the finish line for eight and then I’m totally spent. I have to get a whole blood transfusion and a sensory deprivation chamber for a few weeks.”

Season eight of Archer is set to premiere on the cable network FX in January.