In terms of comedic tone and style, "Archer" and "Bob's Burgers" are about as different from each as possible. Nevertheless, characters from both animated series will appear together during the upcoming fourth season of "Archer."
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, voice actor H. Jon Benjamin confirmed the "Archer" and "Bob's Burgers" crossover, in which he will play both of his leading characters: Secret Agent Sterling Archer of ISIS and Bob Belcher, restaurant proprietor.
“It’s like a Bourne Identity-type plotline," explained Benjamin. "It starts off with Archer as Bob, making hamburgers, but he doesn’t know that he’s Archer. He’s at the restaurant and these, like, I think Russian thugs come in, and Bob dispatches them expertly. And then he’s like, What just happened? How did I do that? So he has to try to figure out why he’s so good at killing people.”
“It’s Archer-style animation, but with all the accoutrements and characteristics of the [Bob’s] characters.” continued Benjamin. “It is a little weird, because you have to be a fan of both to understand it. But you don’t have to know about 'Bob’s Burgers' to enjoy it.”
Benjamin also noted that the idea stemmed from "Archer" creator, Adam Reed, with the full approval of "Bob's Burgers" creator, Loren Bouchard. ”It was prompted by Adam," said Benjamin. "But Loren was into it.”
John Roberts will also appear on the episode as Bob Belcher's wife, Linda. But Benjamin added that "the [Belcher] kids aren’t in it. I guess it must’ve been a budget restriction or something. Like, ‘I can’t afford to pay an extra three grand to pay actors.’”
"Archer" season 4 is expected to hit FX in early 2013.
