Mythic Quest

Mythic Quest (known as Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet for its first season) is an American comedy television series created by Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, and Rob McElhenney for Apple TV+.

The series premiered on February 7, 2020, and follows a fictional video game studio that produces a popular MMORPG called Mythic Quest.

Mythic Quest
Mythic Quest
Season 1 title card
Also known asMythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (season 1)
GenreComedy
Created by
Starring
ComposerTakeshi Furukawa
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Charlie Day
  • Megan Ganz
  • David Hornsby
  • Rob McElhenney
  • David Gordon Green
  • Nicholas Frenkel
  • Michael Rotenberg
  • Jason Altman
  • Danielle Kreinik
  • Gérard Guillemot
Producers
  • Chris Smirnoff
  • Jeff Luini
CinematographyMike Berlucchi
Editors
  • Trevor Penna
  • Josh Drisko
  • Steve Welch
Running time22–37 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkApple TV+
ReleaseFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07) –
present

Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season on January 18, 2020, ahead of its first season premiere. A special episode, "Quarantine", was released on May 22, 2020, and a second special episode, "Everlight", was released on April 16, 2021, ahead of the season two premiere. The second season premiered on May 7, 2021. In October 2021, the series was renewed for a third and fourth season. The third season premiered on November 11, 2022.

Premise

The series follows a fictional video game studio that produces Mythic Quest, a popular MMORPG, run by the game's creator and creative director Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney). At the start of the series, the studio is about to release a major expansion pack to the game, Raven's Banquet. Grimm argues with lead engineer, Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao); head of monetization Brad Bakshi (Danny Pudi); and head writer C.W. Longbottom (F. Murray Abraham).

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Notes

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
19February 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Specials2May 22, 2020 (2020-05-22)April 16, 2021 (2021-04-16)
29May 7, 2021 (2021-05-07)June 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
310November 11, 2022 (2022-11-11)January 6, 2023 (2023-01-06)

Season 1: Raven's Banquet (2020)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Pilot"David Gordon GreenCharlie Day & Megan Ganz & Rob McElhenneyFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
David hires Jo, his new assistant, who immediately begins siding with Ian's opinions, often against David's wishes. In the newest expansion of the game, Raven's Banquet, Poppy creates an in-game item, a shovel, despite Ian's protests. Poppy leaks the shovel to Pootie Shoe, a popular game streamer, who criticizes it. Ian agrees to leave the shovel in the game as long as it can be used as a weapon in addition to Poppy's intended use of in-game digging.
22"The Casino"Todd Biermann & David Gordon GreenDavid HornsbyFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Pootie Shoe draws attention to the Masked Man, a non-player character with a hidden identity. Ian has claimed since its release that there is a backstory behind the character, but reveals that he is still trying to create it. Brad attempts to use the Masked Man to introduce an in-game casino concept to increase profits, but Poppy immediately insults him and tells him that he is not an important member of the team. Brad revolts by leaving the office and makes all in-game items free for purchase. David and Poppy admit they need Brad, as monetizing the game is the only way to support it. Ian and CW decide to create a second character, The White Knight, who is the Masked Man's son. Despite the similarities to the plot of Star Wars, the team decides to proceed with this plot line.
33"Dinner Party"Todd BiermannMegan GanzFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
The Mythic Quest team learns that their game has become an online hangout for Nazis, and attempt to fix their public relations issue. Ian resists an outright ban of Nazis, while Brad, C.W., and David try to determine what types of people should be removed from the game. Poppy releases a new part of the game called Dinner Party, which allows like-minded users to meet and talk. During an in-game anti-Nazi rally, the Nazis use Dinner Party to meet one another and destroy the rally. Poppy and Ian realize that Dinner Party allowed them to see every player who identifies as a Nazi, and move them to an isolated server.
44"The Convention"David Gordon GreenJohn Howell HarrisFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Pootie Shoe announces that he will no longer be playing Mythic Quest. Ian, David, Poppy, and Dana attend a gaming convention to find a new person to stream their game. When there are no successful picks, Poppy realizes that Dana would be an ideal candidate to stream the game online. A Girls Who Code group shows up at the office for a tour, and are disappointed when David is only able to find a few women to speak with them.
55"A Dark Quiet Death"Rob McElhenneyKatie McElhenneyFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
The complete lifecycle from birth to bargain bin of the game Dark Quiet Death. Guest stars Jake Johnson and Cristin Milioti as Doc and Beans. In a mid-credits scene, Ian is shown pitching his game in the same way Doc and Beans did. None of the main characters appears during the episode.
66"Non-Player Character"LPDavid HornsbyFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Poppy takes a tour of Cold Alliance Games and sees what the other side looks like while Ian feels threatened by Paul, a new programmer. Dana starts her new job as a streamer. David deals with a glitch in the game, that is later determined to be caused by an outsider hacking the program. Lou replaces Dana as a program tester working with Rachel.
77"Permadeath"Todd BiermannAparna Nancherla & Ashly BurchFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Ian challenges the hacker to an in-game showdown. Poppy helps Ian prepare for it. Ian ends up beating the Masked Man, who turns out to be Pootie Shoe.
88"Brendan"Pete ChatmonMegan GanzFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
Ian takes Poppy with him to a mysterious meeting, which turns out to be with Pootie Shoe, who is secretly Ian's son, and who is living with his mother. Poppy feels loyal to Ian, and leaves a message declining the new job from Cold Alliance Games. She later changes her mind, but after calling back, is told that the job is no longer there for her. Dana gets outed that she is actually a company employee, rather than an independent streamer.
99"Blood Ocean"Catriona McKenzieMegan Ganz & Rob McElhenneyFebruary 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)
The workers at Mythic Quest want to be paid for their overtime work. David calls up corporate to support them, but is fired. Poppy and Ian argue, and Ian calls Montreal and gets David rehired and overtime pay for all. Ian promotes Poppy to be Co-Creative Director with him.

Specials (2020–21)

No.
overall
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
10"Quarantine"Rob McElhenneyRob McElhenney & Megan Ganz & David HornsbyMay 22, 2020 (2020-05-22)
The staff deals with virtual meetings amid the pandemic. Brad and David have Street Fighter contests to decide whether or not the company will make a charity donation. Ian visits a distraught Poppy where she lives.
11"Everlight"Rob McElhenneyAshly BurchApril 16, 2021 (2021-04-16)
The team returns to the office for their annual Everlight party. Poppy and Ian try to rig a LARP tournament in favor of Dana, but Brad ends up winning the tournament instead and with his win, he forces Poppy and Ian to cancel future Everlight parties. Poppy and Ian then challenge Brad and end up defeating him, which means Everlight parties are able to continue in the future.

Season 2 (2021)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
121"Titans' Rift"Pete ChatmonMegan Ganz & David Hornsby & Rob McElhenneyMay 7, 2021 (2021-05-07)
Ian goes on sabbatical and leaves Poppy to work on the new expansion and its name. Dana and Rachel kiss for the first time and express their true feelings for each other. Jo is no longer David's assistant and is now working for Brad. Poppy has sex dreams about Ian, which leads her to the name of the new expansion: Titans' Rift.
132"Grouchy Goat"Pete ChatmonMegan Ganz & David Hornsby & Rob McElhenneyMay 7, 2021 (2021-05-07)
Rachel and Dana are unsure how to tell the office that they are now dating. Brad assigns them to design a profitable mobile game, with Jo acting as producer. Ian and Poppy work with the design team for the new expansion, but Poppy has trouble being inspirational. To help her be an effective leader, Ian has Poppy speak at a Women in Gaming conference. After hearing Rachel and Dana explain their new mobile game, Brad ends up scrapping it.
143"#YumYum"Angela BarnesJohn Howell HarrisMay 14, 2021 (2021-05-14)
Ian and Poppy work separately on the expansion, Jo helps C.W. deal with his publisher, and Brad sets out to find a romantic partner for David.
154"Breaking Brad"Angela BarnesKeyonna TaylorMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Brad's brother Zack visits the office, which Brad interprets as a sign that he will try to break up the company. Poppy receives a Porsche from corporate headquarters due to the success of Battle Royale. Rachel helps Ian drive Poppy's car back to the office, as Ian is unable to drive stick. Ian mentors Rachel to decide what she really wants to do at the company.
165"Please Sign Here"Megan GanzKatie McElhenneyMay 28, 2021 (2021-05-28)
Carol tries to wrangle Mythic Quest employees as they refuse to sign the results of a simple workplace assessment. Poppy and Ian get into an argument. Ian tries to open up to her but - trying to present strength - she is dismissive, as a result Ian insults Poppy about her needing to rely on him in order to be successful.
176"Backstory!"Rob McElhenneyCraig MazinJune 4, 2021 (2021-06-04)
A flashback episode detailing a young Carl Longbottom's journey to become one of the world's greatest science fiction writers.
187"Peter"Todd BiermannHumphrey KerJune 11, 2021 (2021-06-11)
Rachel accompanies C.W. on a visit to Peter's home, his former colleague who married Anne, who C.W. was in love with more than 40 years ago. Peter is dying, so Ginny, Peter's daughter, secretly sets up the meeting to see if they can hash things out and become friends again.
198"Juice Box"Todd BiermannMegan Ganz & David Hornsby & Rob McElhenneyJune 18, 2021 (2021-06-18)
After Ian presents his half of the expansion, he ends up in the hospital with an apparent heart attack. Poppy's expansion is well-received, but is later discovered to be impossible to implement. Jo is duped by Zack to buy shares of the company, as Brad tells her she can be arrested for insider trading.
209"TBD"Todd BiermannRandall Valdez-CastilloJune 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
Rachel and Dana tender their resignations to David, but then have second thoughts after Dana is rejected from Berkeley. When Dana pleads for her job back to Ian and Poppy, they unexpectedly tell her that they will pay for her to go to school to learn how to program. Ian and Poppy realize that they cannot take Mythic Quest any further, so they resign and form a new company. Brad wants to be arrested by the Feds for insider trading to improve his "street cred."

Season 3 (2022–23)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed byWritten by Original release date 
211"Across the Universe"Rob McElhenneyMegan Ganz & David Hornsby & Rob McElhenneyNovember 11, 2022 (2022-11-11)
222"Partners"Rob McElhenneyMegan Ganz & David Hornsby & Rob McElhenneyNovember 11, 2022 (2022-11-11)
233"Crushing It"Steve WelchNaomi EkperiginNovember 18, 2022 (2022-11-18)
244"The Two Joes"Nina PedradJohn Howell HarrisNovember 23, 2022 (2022-11-23)
255"Playpen"Danny PudiKyle MackDecember 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)
Ian is obsessing over the upcoming Mythic Quest movie and he decides to talk to David and Jo about getting a bigger role in its production. Dana persuades Poppy to play some VR games that were created using the Playpen program Poppy made to distract her. Realizing those games are more fun and appealing to players than the project she's been working on for a year, Poppy falls into despair, before Dana helps her see that Playpen is what she should focus her energy on. David reprimands Rachel, Brad and Carol for adding a new monetization tool into Mythic Quest without consulting him. The Montreal higher-ups end up promoting Carol for the stunt, while Brad cajoles Rachel into accepting the job as Head of Monetization at the company.
266"The 12 Hours of Christmas"David HornsbyHumphrey KerDecember 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
David is keeping the staff in the office for Christmas, and tries and fails to infuse some holiday cheer. Poppy and Ian try to help by throwing a party for the Mythic Quest staff at GrimPop, but David gets angry at them for stealing his holiday plans and forces the staff back to work. Meanwhile, Rachel launches her first monetization tool, and garners a million dollars in profit in one day. Rachel, Brad, Dana, Poppy and Ian work together to give the staff bonuses from the monetization and turn the MQ office into a winter wonderland.
277"Sarian"Megan Ganz & Todd BiermannKatie McElhenneyDecember 16, 2022 (2022-12-16)
In 1987, Ian is a young boy who'd rather spend his time inventing a new world, named Sarian, than do his actual school assignments. His divorced mother supports him in this while exhibiting signs of bipolar disorder. After he mentions to his principal that his mother is having a "bed day", his father is notified and takes Ian into his custody. In 2001, Poppy is a young girl obsessed with playing video games and frustrated at a lack of Internet access. Her Filipino father convinces her to treat an upcoming piano recital like a final boss in a video game, and she then requests a bicycle as her reward. Upon getting the bicycle, she immediately goes to the library and accesses the Internet, where she gets access to a trove of user-created games, including one called Sarian. In 2009, Poppy is in a class at MIT on video game design listening to Ian talk about creating video games. When she mentions that playing Sarian inspired her to write her own games, he starts telling her about a new idea he's had for a MMORPG, which he's calling "Grimquest".
288"To Catch a Mouse"Ashly BurchEmma DePaulo ReidDecember 23, 2022 (2022-12-23)
299"The Year of Phil"Todd BiermannAshly BurchDecember 30, 2022 (2022-12-30)
3010"Buffalo Chicken Pizza"Heath CullensDavis KopJanuary 6, 2023 (2023-01-06)
Poppy is depressed after no venture capital firms agree to fund Playpen, so Ian tries to fix their relationship issues by bringing her a buffalo chicken pizza from the gas station. She agrees, but only if he "meets her halfway" by eating the pizza himself. With the Mythic Quest movie being cancelled and gamers leaving the game, David tries to gather new expansion ideas from the staff. Dana decides to form her own company, and brings aboard both Jo and Brad, who are looking for new opportunities. She takes over the GrimPop space, while Poppy and Ian return to Mythic Quest to add user-generated Playpen content as a new expansion.

Production

Development

On August 9, 2018, it was announced that Apple had given a series order to a new half-hour comedy series written by Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charlie Day, all of whom also serve as executive producers alongside Michael Rotenberg, Nicholas Frenkel, Gérard Guillemot, Jason Altman, and Danielle Kreinik. Production companies involved with the series consist of RCG Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Ubisoft Film & Television. On January 18, 2020, it was announced that Apple had renewed the series for a second season, ahead of its season 1 premiere. In February 2021, it was revealed that the second season would premiere on Apple TV+ on May 7, 2021.

Ubisoft, a large video game publisher, assisted with development of the series. McElhenney said the concept of the show resulted from a discussion Ubisoft had with him about producing a television show around video games. McElhenney had been invited to Ubisoft Montreal to discuss the project, and though he was initially hesitant, as he toured the studio, he saw the potential vision for the show. Since then, Ubisoft has assisted in designing the video game characters and game world, as well as providing other art assets for the show. Ubisoft also helped the writers with details of video game development to stay authentic to industry approaches. On October 21, 2021, Apple renewed the series for a third and fourth season.

Casting

Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Rob McElhenney would star in the series. On February 1, 2019, it was announced that F. Murray Abraham, Imani Hakim, David Hornsby, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Charlotte Nicdao and Jessie Ennis had joined the cast of the series. Anthony Hopkins was cast as the narrator in the special "Everlight" in April 2021. Also in April, alongside the season two trailer release, Apple announced that Humphrey Ker, Chris Naoki Lee, and Jonathan Wiggs were part of the season two cast, with Snoop Dogg and Derek Waters guest starring. In April 2022, it was announced that F. Murray Abraham had exited the series and would not return for the third season. It was then reported in April 2023 that the reasons for Abraham's departure was after he allegedly committed acts of sexual misconduct on the show's set. In July 2022, it was revealed that Joe Manganiello would appear in season three.

Filming

In March 2019, it was reported by The New York Times that filming of season one had concluded. The special, titled Mythic Quest: Quarantine, was written, shot, and edited in just three weeks, all remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, using products supplied by Apple, such as iPhones. On November 11, 2020, Deadline Hollywood reported that the second season suspended production after positive COVID-19 tests of production team members. In December 2020, it was further reported that while Rob McElhenney claimed "to date there remains ZERO evidence of any transmission at work", at least 12 members of the production staff that worked in close contact with one another had contracted COVID-19, marking the second cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to the Mythic Quest production, and prompting another production suspension.

During a Mythic Quest panel at the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour in February 2021, McElhenney stated that he "did not want to be known as the person who got F. Murray Abraham very, very ill", elaborating that Abraham's character was continuing to work remotely for the first few episodes, and did not actually shoot in person until episode seven of the second season, where COVID testing occurred "as many times as five days a week," and Abraham's scenes only included "very small amounts of people on camera". In March 2021, Variety reported that a total of 26 crew members of Mythic Quest came down with COVID-19, making it "the worst outbreak of any show in Los Angeles".

Release

The first season consisting of nine episodes was released on February 7, 2020. A special episode ("Quarantine") focusing on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was released on May 22, 2020. A second special ("Everlight") was released on April 16, 2021, prior to the second season premiere. The second season premiered on May 7, 2021, and was released with weekly episodes.

Marketing

On June 10, 2019, a trailer for the series was presented by McElhenney at Ubisoft's E3 2019 press conference, where he announced that Mythic Quest would premiere in the fall of 2019. On December 18, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 7, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

Critical response of Mythic Quest
SeasonRotten TomatoesMetacritic
190% (39 reviews)73 (12 reviews)
2100% (32 reviews)73 (9 reviews)
394% (17 reviews)

Season 1

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating, based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it relies too heavily on the workplace comedy formula, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet is nonetheless hilarious and stands out for exploring the gaming industry with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and sincerity." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Season 2

The second season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 100% based on 32 reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Smartly written, sharply performed, and sentimental without losing its sense of humor, Mythic Quest's stellar second season solidifies its place as one of TV's best workplace comedies." On Metacritic, it has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Season 3

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 94% based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The core characters have gone their separate ways but Mythic Quest remains thematically cohesive as an acidic sendup of the gaming industry that never compromises its essence as a warm-hearted workplace comedy."

Accolades

Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
American Society of Cinematographers 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in an Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series Michael Berlucchi and Marc Carter (for "Backstory!") Won
Art Directors Guild 2021 Excellence in Production Design for a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series Mark Worthington (for "Pilot") Nominated
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards 2021 Best Streaming Series, Comedy Mythic Quest Nominated
Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy Rob McElhenney Nominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy Danny Pudi Nominated
MPSE Golden Reel Awards 2022 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Half Hour – Comedy or Drama Matthew E. Taylor, Pete Nichols, Matthew Wilson, Sean Heissinger, David Jobe, Elizabeth Rainey, Jody Holwadel Thomas, and Joe Deveau (for "Everlight") Nominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2021 Outstanding Narrator Anthony Hopkins (for "Everlight") Nominated
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation Matthew E. Taylor, Sean Heissinger, Pete Nichols, Matthew Wilson, David Jobe, Joe Deveau, Jody Holwadel Thomas and Elizabeth Rainey (for "Everlight") Nominated
TCA Awards 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Mythic Quest Nominated
Individual Achievement in Comedy Charlotte Nicdao Nominated

The series was recognized with The ReFrame Stamp for hiring people of underrepresented gender identities, and of color.

Other media

Audiobook

Inspired by the short story mentioned in the episode "Backstory!", Tears of the Anaren was released in June 2021 on Apple Books as an ebook and an audiobook, which is narrated by C.W. Longbottom (F. Murray Abraham) and Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney).

Companion series

In December 2022, Apple TV+ ordered Mere Mortals, an eight-episode companion series created and written by Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris and Katie McElhenney. The series will feature entirely new characters and focus on the lives of employees, players and fans of the game Mythic Quest. The series has been compared to the stand-alone episodes "A Dark Quiet Death" and "Backstory!".

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article Mythic Quest, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.

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