Are you watching Archer? Because you totally should. It’s on Thursdays at 10pm on FX, and it really is one of the funniest shows on TV. It’s essentially what would happen if Arrested Development was animated, which is exactly how you describe the perfect TV show.
Anyway, the animated spy comedy came back for its fourth season today, and the show’s creator, Adam Reed, talked to The Advocate about the show’s LGBT characters, like the gay agent Ray and the pansexual HR lady Pam, and how they’re currently the only two gay spies out there. At least until Daniel Craig’s James Bond comes out.
“Well, you know homosexuals are underrepresented in spy fiction,” says Reed, who created and voices Ray. “I wanted to right that wrong. He was supposed to be a one-time character; that’s why I did the voice. So this guy will be an openly gay agent, and I actually liked him — he came across as smart, in-control, and as a foil to Archer. FX liked him and told us to keep him around, so we did.”
AdvertisementWhen we left Ray last season, he was using a wheelchair after being paralyzed. But Reed hints that Ray may walk again (perhaps thanks to a pair of cybernetic legs), and also alludes that Ray may not be the only gay spy viewers see in the new season. Reed says to be on the lookout for “a fellow spy from the past, who is smarter, cooler, better-dressed, and who can out-Archer Archer, and may have had more than a platonic relationship with Archer in the past.”
I think the part I love about Ray is that he really was originally a tertiary character who ended up getting fleshed out in the long run because of the fans’ reaction to him, while Pam’s pansexuality was originally written in as a passing joke until the writers actually implemented it as a real, serious aspect of her character. Also: PAM IS FUCKING FUNNY.
Why you can trust Xtra
