Admittedly, certain shows never make it onto my radar because they are guy shows: “Man vs. Wild,” “Top Gear” and “Ninja Warrior.” None of these, you’ll note, is a scripted series. There’s something about narrative and serialized plots that is anathema to the average male attention span. FX’s foray into the niche universe of animated television with “Archer” combines genre parody with a procedural framework in an attempt to prove that men care about characters with the same fervency as women.

I started hearing about “Archer” last year as all of my guy friends exhorted me to switch to FX following a Thursday night on NBC. In terms of television comedies, “Archer” is more “Adult Swim” than “Family Guy” or “South Park.” Adam Reed, the show’s creator, was also the man behind “Sealab 2021” and “Frisky Dingo,” signaling his commitment to animated television. Where shows like “South Park” are founded on a series of references and parody, “Archer” is unique in the history of animated series in that it is a parody of genre. Even “Looney Toons” lampooned political figures, but the show wasn’t defined by those sneaky jobs.

The eponymous “Archer” offers a caricature of both a Ken doll and James Bond. To pursue the world of the latter, “M” stands for “Mom,” voiced by Jessica Walter, the quintessential self-absorbed mother from “Arrested Development.” Sterling Archer works as a spy at his mother’s agency ISIS (International Secret Intelligence Service), alongside his ex-girlfriend Lana and the flamboyantly gay Ray, to name just two of the dysfunctional and neurotic employees. The spy plots usually lack the suspense we’ve come to expect from chase scenes, as Archer only accidentally apprehends the bad guys. When he does, Archer is happening upon justice in his quest for self-gratification and pleasure: he is a scrupulous nymphomaniac and occasional misogynist. In identifying the seemingly disparate depictions of men and women on the show, one must acknowledge that both are portrayed as stereotypes: the former blundering and blunt, the latter pleasure seeking and equally blunt. The spy conceit here is not a device for valorizing male heroism and intellect, rather a window into the dirty, simple mind of the heterosexual male.

Although sex and its politics occupy the heart of the show’s humor, the comic book animation affords the writers a surprising ability to manipulate body and voice for a laugh. The sensibility is best described as “crass,” but I’m impressed by its ability to diagnose institutional absurdities regarding office decorum, the world of business, class, gender and nationality. The writers have taken the first “I” in ISIS to heart, as the show spares no country or state. I would liken its sense of humor at certain moments to “Arrested Development,” a comparison that is always a sign of high quality. The precision of language, when coupled with the inimitable and pitch-perfect delivery of the animated actors, yields quotable lines and memorable dialogue exchanges. Visually, the use of jump cuts and swipes, a la “30 Rock” in one sense, keeps the 20 minutes brisk and the potential crudeness transitory.

Well-executed shows such as “Archer” remind us that parody is an art, deserving of sufficient narrative, characters, setting and dialogue. Franchises such as “Scary Movie” or “Vampire Sucks,” which aim to earn a buck by parodying the popular, fail to concede the artistic success inherent to the financial success of these genres. “Archer” points out and explains the unrealistic in the spy genre, perpetually looking out for what audiences are questioning internally but repressing because of their enjoyment. The creators of “Archer” believe you can do both.