Season four of Apple TV+ series Mythic Quest brings its eclectic cast of characters “back together under the same roof” and “really heightens the stakes”, star David Hornsby tells Supanova.
The workplace comedy, from creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, saw its ensemble embark on different journeys last season, but now they’re all back in the same MQ office, with the likes of Ian Grimm (McElhenney), Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), David Brittlesbee (Hornsby) and more exploring a quickly shifting video game landscape while also navigating new relationships, work-life balance and more.
Aussie actor Nicdao chimes in, quickly stating that she’s a fan of the show.
“I just watched the whole season last week and got to the end and I wanted to start it back over from episode one,” she says.
“I think that the first three seasons are incredible, but there’s some magic this season… it’s Mythic Quest at its best. It’s the characters that we’ve grown to love, but in totally unexpected situations that I think are really funny and surprising, and I’m honestly just psyched for people to see it.”
Charlotte Nicdao and Rob McElhenney in ‘Mythic Quest’
Hornsby says that these 10 new episodes have “a lot of absurd humour and also a lot of heart”, and that’s the best way to describe Mythic Quest; it doesn’t take itself too seriously but understands the importance of being grounded when it needs to be.
“We have a very specific tone, I would say,” he adds. “A signature piece of our show is that we have some crazy characters, but we are really asking ourselves interesting questions each season as the writers.
“And this season with Poppy having a boyfriend, we really want to challenge what the intimacy of a partnership is like when it’s challenged with a romantic relationship and how that hits for Ian and what issues that brings out. So that feels very specific to our show and that’s the fun place I feel like it lives.”
When asked about Poppy’s boyfriend Storm, Nicdao smiles and comments, “I never thought I’d see the day that Poppy would be in a romantic entanglement.”
She elaborates, “I love the fact that the person that the team have brought in for Poppy to be in a relationship with is just this incredible, creative, generous, kind guy that really, no one can find fault with. Because I think that it gives an edge to Poppy this season.
“She’s managed to find this amazing boyfriend and it gives her a bit of a confidence boost, and I really enjoyed seeing where that took her as a character this season, because I feel like we’ve never really seen her in this light before.”
In previous seasons, Poppy has been vying for the attention and approval of her boss-turned-creative-partner Ian Grimm, but season four sees a power shift.
David Hornsby in ‘Mythic Quest’
“Rather than her lording it over Ian, the fact that perhaps maybe she has got her [stuff] together in a way that he doesn’t, I think she really wants him to catch up…. she wants him to figure out how to be a healthy person so that they can have a healthy relationship and he just struggles with it more than she has.”
Brittlesbee, who always seems to get caught in the crossfire of everything happening between all characters, also has some significant character development this season.
“David tries to court Ian as a friend and I got to see where David lives and his fiefdom, his friends and that was super-fun,” Hornsby shares. “And of course, standing next to your friend of a long time naked on a beach with a crew of several hundred behind you, just bare-butted, it’s a rush in its own way. There’s no feeling like it, and I’ll never forget it.”
Most of this season’s biggest moments and a lot of its core character development happens outside of the office and completely removed from the games they’re creating.
“Part of what makes the show so great is that it pulls from this really rich landscape of story that is the video game industry but ultimately, we’re a workplace comedy,” Nicdao says.
“And so, like any workplace comedy that you think of, the place that they work is really important to the stories that we tell. But the thing that’s actually more important than that is the ensemble of characters and how they relate to each other season through season.”
Charlotte Nicdao and Rob McElhenney in ‘Mythic Quest’
The Mythic Quest universe will expand on March 26 with the addition of anthology series Side Quest, which explores the lives of employees, players and fans who are impacted by the game.
If they could have their own respective spin-offs, Nicdao would love to bring the production home to Australia.
“Maybe the moment where she decides to go to MIT rather than staying and studying at Melbourne Uni or something,” she ponders. “What is the moment that she decides to go out into the big wide world? And selfishly, that’s also because I would hope that we’d film it in Australia and I wouldn’t have to leave home.”
Hornsby adds: “That’d be fun. I’d be interested in seeing Brittlesbee’s [personal life]. What’s that life like? We’ve teased at it and seen a little bit of it this season. What’s his day-to-day, what’s his nightlife like? That could be fun.”
Without revealing too much of what’s to come this season, Nicdao states that if they’re lucky enough to make more Mythic Quest, there’ll be no shortage of material as “there’s a lot more story to tell”.
Hornsby concludes: “Things will always keep getting complicated and we have a lot of drama that happens in season four that will certainly drive season five.”
The first two episodes of ‘Mythic Quest’ season four are now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes dropping weekly