Our Mythic Quest Interviews: ‘No Gamer Backlash Yet, But There Is Time’

Ever wondered what it’s like to work for a game developer? The Apple TV+ show Mythical Quest dives on top of that… sort of. It’s not like it’s anywhere close to being a real developer, but the comedy is damn entertaining. OMT editor Dennis Mons spoke to the cast for the third season of the delightful series.

If you have no idea what Mythical Quest is: it revolves around a developer who is (initially) working on a huge open world game a la World of Warcraft. We take a look behind the scenes at this comedy, and while the business is grossly exaggerated, it’s a delightful office series comparable to The Office.

Mythical Quest is not The Office and yet yes

It’s wonderful when a TV series appeals to my inner (and outer) nerd. And that’s what the first two seasons of Mythical Quest definitely done. It is about a megalomaniac, self-centered, but charming boss Ian Grimm (played by Rob McElhenney) and his partner Poppy Li who actually develops the game and grumbles wonderfully often.

But the rest of the company is also intriguing and hilarious, such as the ‘old-fashioned prose writer’ CW Longbottom (F. Murray Abraham), the money grubber Danny Pudi (Brad Bakshi) and the somewhat wimpy producer David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) who makes the mess irregular but not get under control.

All in all a wonderful series and this week season 3 started and I got to chat with all these people.

For example, actress Charlotte Nicdao (Poppy Li) turns out to be a big fan of Star Wars, especially Yoda. Sitting next to her was Imani Hakim who plays Dana in the series.

Charlotte: If you were really Poppy, would you make a Star Wars game?

Charlotte: “If I were a combination of Poppy and myself, I would 100 percent make a Star Wars game. But only Poppy would certainly not want to make a Star Wars game. She is much more concerned with her own legacy.”

Imani, your character started out as a tester and you and Rachel (played by Ashley Burch) were such a cute couple on the couch during game testing. But your character is getting quite bossy in the new season.

“Haha yes, as a character… I was taught from the best by the people around her. She has a strict goal in mind and is therefore no longer the sweetheart from the first two seasons. No one should get in the way of that.”

It goes without saying that you learned from the best because in the new season you click with Ian at a higher level as a clone. Did you study Rob to get that done?

“Oh sure yes, I was that creep who constantly cheated on him. His mannerisms, his tone of voice. It was a funny process.”

Rob (also the producer of the series) is quite all over the placeas we can see for example in the series Wrexham (where he bought a football club in Wales with Ryan Reynolds, ed.). Is he like that on set?

Charlotte: “Oh yes, he always has so much energy and that is contagious. For much of this season, it was mostly about Poppy Li, Dana and Ian. It was also a fun challenge to work on the new, sterile set, which I hope people like. There wasn’t, and it was meant to be, much to work with. Our energy was therefore even more important to use this season.”

Time to also sit down with David Hornsby who not only plays David Brittlesbee, but also co-produces the show.

I freely admit: I watched all ten episodes of this season in one evening (sorry people, advantage of the trade, the series has a new episode every week, ed.).

“Really? Ooh, what is your verdict, you are one of the first.”

Yes fantastic! But then I am a fan. What I like so much is that it is such a diverse series with characters from different backgrounds and orientations without it being annoying. Did you figure that out, or did it just happen that way?

“We have a lot of characters and it’s an ‘office comedy’ and so we have to have characters of all kinds. And so we focused on that fact in the video game world, there’s all sorts of things; from the ‘lone testers’ to Ian and Poppy who created the game. So you have that world, but also, for example, Carol from HR (played Naomi Ekperigin, ed.) who just want to go home at the end of the day.”

Now gamers want to be rather… tough. You once said in an interview that gamers’ backlash on social media, for example, can be rough. Have you had any trouble making Mythical Quest?

“Not really. But there’s still time, haha. But you want to show satire from both sides with a show like this. On the one hand, you have these huge game companies that are platforms, but on the other hand, they also have a responsibility to raise difficult social issues when they’re in the game. Are you just a platform? Or are you also approachable just like large social media platforms such as Twitter?”

Speaking of major social media platforms, you’re diving into the Metaverse in Season 3. How come?

“That is mainly because of Rob. He’s really obsessed with it. He put books in our hands on the subject and he is really in that ‘space’. So it was fitting that Ian, Rob’s character, had that same obsession. That’s why Ian and Poppy’s new office looks like Web 2.0 instead of Web 3.0… No wait, never mind, I have no idea what I’m saying. But that shows: I have no idea.”

Finally, I had enough to discuss with a special couple: in the series, the character of Carol ensures that the character of Brad Bakshi (played by Danny Pudi) returns to Mythic Quest. And this is perhaps the best combination of the season, because they are rather unreliable and therefore hilarious.

Okay you guys are very sneaky in both season 2 and now in season 3: But which character of you is more conspiratorial?

Naomi: “Haha, oh Brad is way more conspiratorial than Carol!”
Then: “Haha, I would also say Brad, but Carol suddenly allows Brad to return to the office. What is she hiding to get to that point!? We just need each other. Point!”

The combination of you two in Mythical Quest is really brilliant

Danny: “I loved that about that character as well. In season two, Brad went to jail and everyone was like ‘could happen’ and then he comes back and pretty much everyone is like ‘oh he’s back’. It just made sense to me. It makes sense in a Mythic Quest-esque way.”

Naomi, there’s a huge rant against one at one point white guy in middle age (so Phil, ed.), and it’s possibly one of the funniest rants in the new season. Where do you find that energy?

Naomi: “Dennis, that’s how I am. If you need someone to yell at you for no reason: ‘I’m your gall’!! The character Phil is also so good to rant to. That you’re like, “Phil, do I have to do this again?” At Mythic Quest I can also improvise and shout what I want and then I will hear if it is okay.”

Okay one more question for Danny. You may be the personification of cowardly (dastardly) and rather mean at it Mythical Quest. Where do you find such a character?

“Dastardly, I like that *rubs hands*. Alongside American Psycho, this is now a favorite. But it’s just so much fun to play. Brad doesn’t care how he impacts others around him. He just wants the money! He doesn’t do group chats, even when things get chaotic at Mythic Quest. He sits in a corner watching it and thinks ‘look at these idiots, I’m going to make good money off this’.”

All in all, a pleasure to speak to these wonderfully nerds and excellent actors. Mythical Quest is now on Apple TV+, and as said; be a little patient. A new episode drops every week.