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Aisha Tyler, Amber Nash, Chris Parnell call 'Archer' end 'bittersweet'

Aisha Tyler and H. Jon Benjamin's adult animated series, "Archer," wraps up its 14-season run Sunday. Image courtesy of FX
1 of 5 | Aisha Tyler and H. Jon Benjamin's adult animated series, "Archer," wraps up its 14-season run Sunday. Image courtesy of FX

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Voice stars Aisha Tyler, Amber Nash and Chris Parnell say Sunday's series finale of their "comedically radical" adult animated series, Archer, feels bittersweet, but they are holding out hope that the spy show will return some day.

Created by Adam Reed, the sharply written and audacious show has run for 14 seasons on FX and stars H. Jon Benjamin as the titular hero.

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The last three episodes are billed as an event titled, Archer: Into the Cold.

"Obviously, we love the show and love making it, but I think we have to keep reminding ourselves that 14 seasons is an extraordinary feat for any television series, let alone one as specific and special as Archer," Tyler, who plays Lana, told UPI in a recent phone interview.

"It's a great body of work," she added. "We didn't know that we'd be able to make the show as long as we've been able to make it. We've been really happy with the way that the season has shaped up and I think people are really going to love the Into the Cold finale."

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Nash, who plays Pam, called the last episodes "the end of an era."

"[Endings are] always a little bit sad, but I'm really proud of what we did and I am excited for everybody to see how we wrap it all up and to kind of send everybody off in a fun way," she said. "But [we] definitely kept everybody alive, so that we could definitely do shows later, in the future, if anybody wants us to."

Nash was a struggling stage actress when she got the role of Pam.

"It changed my life. It changed my career. It changed the trajectory for me in amazing ways," Nash said.

"I got lucky that that was my first big thing and it also kind of spoiled me because now I'm kind of lazy," she laughed.

This was an ideal arrangement because Archer was loads of fun and paid the bills, but wasn't time consuming, thus allowing Nash to pursue other projects.

"I had a lot of time to do other things and the other things I like to do are theater, which pay no money," she quipped.

"So, that allowed me to do really cool things with very creative theater people that I couldn't have afforded to do... That was amazing and I got to travel a ton!"

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Criminal Minds and The Last Thing He Told Me actress Tyler credits Archer with helping her grow as an artist, too.

"I've learned so much," Tyler said of the show she describes as being unlike anything else on television.

"It really is a way for me as a performer -- for all of us -- to push ourselves comedically and really stretch our comedic skill set because the show is so comedically radical."

Tyler is able to enjoy watching the show as a fan because the finished product is so different from her experience of recording her lines of dialogue for it.

"You can get pretty siloed in your own work," Tyler said.

"You read the script and then you go record your lines [alone] and then you leave and you forget it. You do other stuff. You go to Trader Joe's. You take a nap. You've forgotten everything you did," she joked. "But, then you see it, and it's always delightful."

Saturday Night Live, Family Guy and Rick & Morty alum Parnell, who plays Cyril, said he feels lucky and grateful to have been part of the show for so long, but thinks it is a "bummer" that it all has come to an end.

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"I think we're going to miss having that connection with each other, which we got to experience mainly when we were doing conventions, but also we did a series of Archer live shows in the past, which were such a blast to do, with the cast there and a live audience," Parnell said of actually interacting with his co-stars.

"We'll just miss doing those kinds of things and hanging out, but I think we'll probably still meet up for dinners every now and then."

Just because the new episodes of Archer are no longer being made doesn't mean it is vanishing, he added.

"Archer will live on in streaming," Parnell said of the magic of reruns. "I think it's got legs to be on for a while."

Parnell appreciates Archer's enthusiastic fandom and is pleased the show's humor offers people a break from whatever troubles they might be experiencing in real life.

"It's one of the great things about working in comedy, to know that there are people out there that is really feeding them and bringing them healing and joy in what are clearly dark and divisive times," he said.

Parnell said he loves knowing his work has positively touched fans like the ones he met at a recent convention in Michigan.

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"Just getting that feedback from the fans who showed up to get an autograph or a picture taken was so gratifying and heartwarming and to hear how much Archer and Rick & Morty and other things have meant to them, it's clearly had an impact on a lot of people," he added.

"It means a lot to a lot of people and you can only feel good about that."

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