Bringing back Stern and Bell is a master-stroke, since Archer manages to burn through new characters as quickly as it does one-liners, managing to abandon colourful, well-drawn comedic creations that other shows would kill for. Going back through the ranks of some of those forgotten guest stars is not only thrifty but just plain makes sense, since there have been some brilliant characters that managed to leave an impression in the space of just a couple of episodes. On the other hand, why stop now? They've managed to come up with some consistently hilarious and inventive new characters over the first five seasons, and it looks like the sixth will be no different. There's already CCH Pounder and Keith David playing Lana's hippy parents, and apparently the Archer writers are a big fan of stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani, having written the part of a Pakistani spy messing with Archer specifically for him. Perhaps most exciting of all the additions to the ISIS roster in the next season of Archer, however, is a character who's long been talked about but never been glimpsed in the wild. She's a bit like their version of Norm's wife from Cheers, or Maris from Frasier: Pam's mysterious sister Edie. She's in line to be played by Allison Tolman from Fargo, which is inspired casting since she's awesome, and any further insight into the Poovey family is welcome.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
