There is a new way for fans of Archer who have Spectrum cable but not Hulu to watch the FXX animated series’ 14th and final season. The Emmy-winning comedy has expanded the availability of its current 14th season by making episodes available post-premiere on VOD systems for the FX and FXX linear channels.
The issue arose after the new agreement between Disney and Spectrum parent Charter, which came together after 10 days of interrupted carriage, included the drop of eight Disney ad-supported cable networks, including FXX and FXM, from Spectrum platforms. As Deadline reported last week, FX brass were looking for solutions on Archer, which was seriously impacted as its final season had just premiered when the Disney networks went dark on Spectrum systems on Aug. 31.
Spectrum is the No.2 cable operator in the U.S. with 14.7 million customers, with FXX and the other discontinued networks losing close to 20% of their reach, which means that there is likely a sizable number of cable customers who lost access to Archer if they don’t subscribe to Hulu. (Archer is available next day on the streamer for new episodes, along with the current and prior seasons.)
The flagship FX network remains on Spectrum, so cable viewers will be able to watch the final episodes of Archer through that network’s VOD function. The first four episodes of season 14 are now being made available via VOD for subscribers to the linear FX and FXX channel everywhere.
FX executives likely will make a decision on the other popular FXX original series, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which recently aired its 16th season, with the next season at least a year away. (The veteran comedy has been renewed through Season 18.)
Archer returns this Wednesday, September 20, with episode 5, “Keys Open Doors:” An unplanned vacation forces Lana to accompany Archer, Pam and Cyril on a mission that quickly goes off the rails. Will Lana blow the mission when she crosses the line? Written by Miles Woods.
The series follows Sterling Archer as he navigates the changing landscape of the spy world. This season, Archer and The Agency are finding their own way with Lana at the helm. Her goal is to make money while also making the world a better place, but she quickly finds out running a spy agency isn’t so cut and dry.
Archer features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as “Sterling Archer;” Aisha Tyler as “Lana Kane;” Judy Greer as “Cheryl/Carol Tunt;” Chris Parnell as “Cyril Figgis;” Amber Nash as “Pam Poovey;” Adam Reed as “Ray Gillette” and Lucky Yates as “Algernop Krieger.” Season 14 also features Natalie Dew as the gang’s new super-agent, “Zara Khan.”
The animated comedy was created by Adam Reed and is executive produced by Reed, Matt Thompson, Casey Willis and co-executive produced by Mark Ganek at Floyd County Productions. The series is produced by FX Productions.
