The Atlanta-based FX animated spy series "Archer" keeps on getting more popular with each passing season, so the fact FX just gave the show a fifth season came as no surprise.

If you really enjoy numbers, here's a whopper of a paragraph from the FX press release:

In 2013, Archer ranks as cable’s #2 series in delivery of Men 18-34 behind The Walking Dead, and it has ranked as television’s #1 program in that demo in the Thursday, 10 PM time period in four of the past six weeks (Live+Same Day). Through four episodes this season, Archer is posting gains of +44% in Adults 18-34 and +36% in Adults 18-49 compared to its season three average. First-run episodes of Archer are averaging 2.37 Million Total Viewers; 2.01 million Adults 18-49, and 1.41 million Adults 18-34 (L+7).  In comparison to the Archer’s first season, four season in the series has increased its audience by +92% in Total Viewers, +129% in Adults 18-34, +159% in Men 18-34, +128% in Adults 18-49, and +160% in Men 18-49 (L+7).*

Local co-creator Matt Thompson emailed me this reaction:

It was not unexpected, but still, it nice to have it in writing.  

Plus, it gives us an excuse to get drunk.

"It's Wednesday!" said with a huge slur raises a lot more eyebrows than "We just got renewed!"

In a phone interview before the season started last month, Thompson said the network had already told him momentum was building, fed partly,  he thinks, by Netflix marathon viewings by people off season. "We're just trying to make ourselves laugh," he said. They even did a brief four-city live tour with actors from the show. "It was great to see fans in person," he said. "It's especially nice to have people who like what you do as opposed to people being mean to you."

He said the show tries to straddle between serialized and stand alone. "We want you to be able to jump right in but at the same time, we want the characters to grow emotionally," he said.

One continuity issue they ignore: bullet holds "We don't keep track of bullet holes. They get shot too much."