[1] The whereabouts of his biological father are unknown barring a fake identity conceived by Malory,[2] though he briefly appears as a faceless figure in a dream sequence in the season four episode "Once Bitten", as Archer hallucinates from a cobra bite.

Archer becomes an even more sympathetic personality as the series evolves in later seasons, when revelations about his troubled past, fears, affection for animals, and a deep admiration of Burt Reynolds, among others, come to light.

The turbulence between him and Malory stems from years of childhood neglect,[16] resulting in interactions that are often "fraught, laden with [...] memories of unforgiven slights, and the needy fears that accompany codependence".

[17] These feelings are sometimes manifested by sexual tension, evidenced when Archer at one point shouts his mother's name while having sex with longtime love interest Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), and gets an erection after thinking about her death.

Yet she has a new found compassion for him when he becomes ill with cancer,[19] and by the time their daughter is born, their relationship is such that Archer is "willing to put his money [...] where other people's mouths are in order to protect his family.

[18] Lana's drive to get revenge on Archer for cheating on her is fairly evident throughout the initial half of the first season, even going as far as to shoot him on multiple occasions.

[21][22] Unbeknownst to Archer, Malory has been keeping in contact with Nikolai Jakov and Len Trexler, one of whom—despite serving for rivaling agencies—could possibly be his real father.

[21] By "Dial M for Mother", he becomes suspicious of Malory's sly tactics, which prompts her to affirm that the identity of Archer's biological father is unknown.

Archer travels to Russia to find out whether Jakov is his biological father, only to be stranded and kidnapped by agents of the Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB).

[24] Following a growing disdain of Archer after previously destroying his femur and having anal sex with his (now ex-)fiancée,[25] Barry attempts to murder him.

In the first episode, which takes place six weeks after the end of season five, Archer has been residing in Thailand because he was shocked that Lana used his sperm to conceive a child without his permission, but then he finally comes home after a mission in Borneo.

[29] In the finale, the CIA hires Archer and the others to save the life of a brilliant scientist by shrinking down and destroying a lethal blood clot in his brain.

[30] Archer convinces the group that they should start a detective agency in Los Angeles, setting up the events of season seven where they are subjected to the machinations of actress Veronica Deane.

It eventually results in Archer being shot several times by Veronica in the season seven finale, later revealed to have survived but in a coma for three years.

Season eight follows Archer in his coma-induced dream where he imagines himself as a private detective and all of his co-workers, friends and associates as characters in a 1940s-esque film noir setting known as "Dreamland".

Season nine has Archer, remaining in a coma-induced dream, imagined as a co-pilot with Pam, who crash land onto the lush and mysterious Pacific island of Mitimotu.

Season ten continues the coma-induced imagination themed setting, this time portraying Archer as the co-captain of the starship M/V Seamus in a "1970s vision of the future" reminiscent of Star Wars and Alien.

"I was in Europe and Morocco for most of the year," Reed recalled, "bumming around with a backpack and a scruffy beard, and sitting in cafes writing in my journal, seeing all these wealthy people and beautiful women, walking around, looking all European.

Although the Archer creator wanted the title character to embody an obtuse, yet sympathetic personality, he was still apprehensive on modeling it after James Bond until viewing GoldenEye (1995); in the film, Reed was immediately captivated by Judi Dench's portrayal of M—the head of the Secret Intelligence Service.

"[38] As Newsday writer Verne Gay affirmed, "Sterling Archer [...] is a suave if hard-bitten boozehound who, nonetheless, knows how to handle weaponry and women—sometimes.

"[39] James Poniewozik of Time defined Archer as the "bluff" and "lunkheaded" star of the series,[40] while USA Today's Whitney Matheson professed that the character is a callous, albeit attractive individual.

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix commented that the series shines when the writers "are able to straddle the line between Archer being an ignorant baby and a witty spy capable of being a hyper-competent badass", as palpable in the first part of the third season installment "Heart of Archness".

[44] Annotating on "The Man from Jupiter", Paste's Ross Bonaime avouched that Burt Reynolds' character effectively shed light onto the issues that Archer faces, as well as demonstrate a more affectionate side of him.