Fans of Jessica Walter, who died March 24 at age 80, will get a chance for a proper goodbye and a celebration of the beloved actress when FXX’s popular animated series returns for its 12th season later this year.
Season 12 of Archer is currently in production, and I hear it recently wrapped the voice recordings of the cast which are done first, before the episodes get animated. It is unclear how many episodes of the show Walter will be in next season but I hear that she worked on Archer until the end. “She loved that show so much and was grateful for it every day,” a friend of Walter’s said.
Walter plays one of the lead characters on Archer, Malory Archer, the abrasive former Chief Executive Officer of ISIS and the mother of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin). The role earned her two Annie nominations.
“The Archer family is heartbroken to lose Jessica Walter, our beloved colleague and friend,” Adam Reed, creator and executive producer of Archer, said earlier today. “Jessica was a consummate professional, an actor’s actor, and the exact opposite of Malory Archer – warm, caring, and kind, with an absolutely cracking sense of humor – and it was both a privilege and a true honor to work with her over these many years. She will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.”
The show will likely feature a tribute to Walter next season, which may be dedicated to her.
Walter continued acting until her death. In addition to her voice work on Archer, she also recently appeared in an episode of ABC’s American Housewife.