Does Archer Season 12 Still Use Jessica Walter’s Voice?

Warning: Contains minor SPOILERS for Archer season 12, episodes 1 & 2.

FX’s Archer season 12 saw the return of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) alongside his eclectic colleagues and mother, Malory, but was she still voiced by the incomparable Jessica Walter? With an award-winning career spanning decades, Jessica Walter enjoyed countless notable roles on stage and screens both big and small. In recent years, she garnered further acclaim and a legion of fans as the narcissistic matriarch, Lucille Bluth, on all five seasons of Arrested Development. Equally, the veteran actress was a staple of Archer from the start.

As well as the mother of Archer‘s arrogant titular character, Walter’s character was a renowned spy in her own right. With a long and storied history behind her, Malory Archer served as the head of the newly-renamed and rebranded organization: The Agency. As such, between indulging her own habits and vices, Malory often tried (and failed) to keep Archer, Lana (Aisha Tyler), Cyril (Chris Parnell), Pam (Amber Nash), Krieger (Lucky Yates), Cheryl (Judy Greer), and Ray (creator Adam Reed) in check. Despite the character’s abrasive nature, Jessica Walter helped to turn her into a beloved fan favorite. Unfortunately, earlier in 2021, while Archer season 12 was still in production, Jessica Walter sadly passed away.

Fans will be glad to know, however, that Jessica Walter was very much still the voice of Malory Archer in Archer season 12, episode 1, “Identity Crisis.” As The Agency faced bankruptcy, Malory utilized all her guile and manipulative tendencies to find a benefactor and keep things afloat. Despite those struggles, she lost none of her scornfully mocking edge — delivering scathing comments as only Walter could. Between Archer and his efforts to disrupt her plans to the marketing team of Kaia (Natasha Rothwell) and Alton (Harvey Guillén) trying to help them, nobody was safe. In customary fashion, though, Malory’s machinations were more designed to maintain her own opulent lifestyle rather than benefit her loyal employees.

Albeit to a lesser extent, Archer season 12, episode 2, “Lowjacked” also featured Walter as Malory Archer. As the team was treated to a team-building retreat by Lana’s husband — and new Agency CFO — Robert (Stephen Tobolowsky), Malory tagged along for the free vacation and booze. Unfortunately for everybody, their luxury plane was hijacked by eco-friendly terrorists looking to extort Robert. As a result, Malory took somewhat of a backseat to the action-packed, comically inept, or gleefully selfish exploits of Pam and the others. Regardless, she was still on-hand to deliver a harsh barb or witty one-liner as and when needed.

Even more pleasing still, Jessica Walter will be on hand to deliver such things for the entirety of Archer season 12. According to Deadline, she recorded the full extent of her dialogue even prior to the episodes being animated. As such, for the time being, fans likely won’t have to worry about events similar to what happened with Woodhouse following George Coe’s death. In fact, Archer season 12 has offered Walter a chance to show even more of her range, with the first episode briefly showing other sides of Malory as she temporarily floundered. Furthermore, Archer season 12, episode 3, “London Time” delves a little more into her backstory. As such, fans still have plenty of stellar Jessica Walter work to look forward to, and Archer season 12 will no doubt serve as a fitting tribute to her considerable talents.

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