Mythic Quest

Mythic Quest (known as Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet for its first season) is an American comedy streaming television series created by Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, and Rob McElhenney for Apple TV+. The series premiered on February 7, 2020, and follows a video game studio that produces a popular MMORPG called "Mythic Quest". Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season on January 18, 2020, ahead of its first season premiere. A special episode called "Quarantine" was released on May 22, 2020, with the second special episode "Everlight" being released on April 16, 2021, ahead of the season two premiere. The second season premiered on May 7, 2021.
Premise.
The series follows a video game studio that produces "Mythic Quest", a popular MMORPG, run by the game's creator Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney). At the start of the series, the studio is about to release a major expansion pack to the game, titled "Raven's Banquet". The game's creative director is Ian Grimm, who argues with lead engineer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), head of monetization Brad Bakshi (Danny Pudi), and head writer C.W. Longbottom (F. Murray Abraham).
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 TV+ 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.
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 announce that Humphrey Ker, Chris Naoki Lee, and Jonathan Wiggs were part of the season two cast, with Snoop Dogg and Derek Waters guest starring.
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.
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 89% approval rating, based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.66/10. 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".
The second season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 100% based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 8.27/10. 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 75 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".