While Mythic Quest may be set in the behind-the-scenes world of a video game company, its characters each have varied interest in the medium. Co-created and starring It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob McElhenney, who plays the game’s visionary creator, Ian (pronounced eye-in, to help clue you into his insufferable personality), the show manages to be both a love letter to video games without making them a prerequisite.
Along with co-creators Charlie Day and Megan Ganz — also of Always Sunny fame — the show’s ensemble cast and crew bring their combined experience, or lack thereof, to helps strike that delicate balance. Ahead of the show’s sophomore season, which premieres May 7 on Apple TV+, we spoke with stars F. Murray Abraham, Imani Hakim, and writer/star Ashly Burch about how their respective interest with video games helped shape their characters, as well as the show itself.
“Well, in my case, there was no video gaming background. I’m a pinball guy — still am. Pachinko was a big deal for me, but that has nothing to do with gaming,” says Abraham, who plays the show’s head writer, and award-winning science fiction auteur C.W. Longbottom. While he’s central to the game’s existence, his grasp of anything outside of his manuscripts is tenuous at best, which he says is “part of the charm of this character.”
“He’s still on the outside, even though he’s writing for the game itself,” Abraham explains, recalling a scene from Season 1 where he demonstrates the importance of a well-written cutscene. Specifically, the scene in Red Dead Redemption 2 where Arthur Morgan has to put down his beloved horse. “I think that really explains what I do in the show and where I belong. And I’m learning more and more about it, very gradually and slowly — and very humorously too, I might add. Are you a gamer? You would really love to see me play.”
Hakim, meanwhile, describes herself as a “casual gamer” who plays “every few months,” though she relied on research to help inform her performance as Dana, one of the game’s testers. “In Season 2, I got to talk to the phenomenal Tracy Fullerton, who is an amazing game designer, and I got to pick her brain about game testing, coding, design, all of it. So, I had all of my resources and you get to see that on screen — that I get to convey how much I love gaming.” She also credits the show’s partner, game company Ubisoft, as well as “the most wonderful scene partner Ashly Burch.”
“I’ve been a gamer my whole life,” Burch proudly declares. “I mean, there’s a home movie of me holding a NES controller, not attached to anything, [me] wobbling around in a diaper. It’s been part of my life since I was literally a baby.” In addition to playing fellow tester Rachel, Burch (who has an impressive resume working in games), also works as one of the show’s writers.
“I bring that knowledge to the writer’s room, and in my portrayal of Rachel,” she explains. “We really wanted to make the show authentic to folks that are in the industry or love games, but we also wanted it to be completely accessible to people that had never played a game in their life. So, I think the mix of folks in the writers room and in the cast, and that difference in experience, I think has really helped us make a, a well-rounded show. That’s both earnest and a love letter to games and also just a great comedy for folks that know absolutely nothing about games.”
“Which is what I do,” Abraham says. “I’m not ashamed of it by the way. It’s fun because every time I try to play one of those games, they’re hysterical. We should film me doing that. They really are.”
While Mythic Quest was able to resume filming for its second season amid the pandemic, some alterations had to be made, which includes C.W. interacting with the rest of the crew via video chat. While it provides some additional fodder for his technology-inept character, Abraham admits he was “worried” about how his performance would translate alongside the ensemble.
“I was here alone, they were giving me instructions, and I’m so pleased that it came through. It wasn’t nearly as much fun as playing face-to-face though,” he admits. “I gotta tell you, man. You know… it ain’t. But there’s something about this character and it speaks to what Ashley was talking about, is it really appeals to people who are not, as well as people who are, gamers. And I think I represent that portion of the audience.”
“I really love him, man,” Abraham adds about his character. “I’ve got to tell you, there are some characters that play that I would never, ever want to be seen with them in public. But this guy, it would be fun. As soon as the bars open again, I’m going to go with him too. Somewhere…”
As the pandemic had delayed the production of Season 2, the ripple effects ended up changing the dynamics of the story. Including the burgeoning relationship between Dana and Rachel. “We knew from Season 1 that we wanted a love story and we wanted the love story to be between these two women — these two testers, but we didn’t know exactly where we were going to take it in Season 2,” Burch explains, adding that “it was a very different story before the pandemic hit.”
“Originally we were supposed to shoot Season 2 the week that the stay at home order in L.A. went into effect,” Burch says. “So between the wrapping the quarantine episode and coming back for Season 2, there were a lot of rewrites that happened. Their story actually changed a lot. It’s cool because I think it let us sit with them as characters for longer and understand what we needed to do to serve them, not just as the romance, but also them as individual characters. The really great thing about having that time and doing those rewrites is that we’ve got to find places to really explore Dana and Rachel individually. If you care about them as individuals, you care more about the love story.”
“To Ashly’s point, I think the time between Season 1 and Season 2 really helped,” Hakim adds. “Originally, Dana was written one way — or her storyline was written one way and then that break helped. Our leaders are really good about it being a collaborative effort, so I got to sit in the writers for Season 2. I also was able to have conversations with Rob and Megan just about Dana’s storyline and her arc and contribute, in that way. So, I’m grateful that we have the time to develop her more and now dive into Season 2, where Dana’s ambition is going to take her, which is something that we didn’t really get to touch on too much in Season 1.”
Mythic Quest Season 2 premieres Friday, May 7 on Apple TV+. Season 1, as well as its two stand-alone episodes, are available to stream now.Â
