Created by Adam Reed as one of the show's original supporting characters, she is voiced by Judy Greer and debuted in the series' pilot episode, "Mole Hunt", on September 17, 2009.

Cheryl, the heiress of the wealthy Tunt family, is introduced as the incompetent personal assistant to Malory Archer (Jessica Walter).

She is portrayed as an emotionally fragile, ditzy personality in Archer's early years; among her attributes are her choking fetish and addiction to rubber cement.

[2] Cheryl's early storylines focus on her attempts to sabotage Cyril Figgis' (Chris Parnell) relationship with Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), whom she greatly despises.

Cyril, emasculated by Lana and increasingly suspicious of her relationship with Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), agrees to have sex with Cheryl.

[4] Cheryl threatens to tell Lana of their affair to force him into continuing it, although in a conversation with Pam Poovey (Amber Nash), she reveals her true intentions were to make Sterling jealous.

[4] Though Lana catches Cyril cheating with Framboise, the former human relations head at the Organization of Democratic Intelligence Networks (ODIN),[5] Cheryl nonetheless reveals the affair to her, adding more tension to their rivalry.

She and her brother Cecil (Eugene Mirman) inherit US$1 billion in trust funds after the death of their parents; the fortune is split evenly amongst each party, and Cheryl's net worth balloons tenfold.

Greer came to the Archer producers' attention for her work in Glenn Martin, DDS, and she joined the show because of her desire to break into voice acting, after previous attempts had failed.

[11][7] She and casting director Linda Lamontagne, whom she worked with in Glenn Martin, DDS, consulted with the producers in Los Angeles for the role: "She was kind of relentless with them, saying 'Use her, use her.'

[21] Prior to Greer's casting, Cheryl was expected to be merely a supporting character for Archer, part of a running gag where Sterling impregnates Malory's secretaries.