Mythic Quest Series Review

Mythic Quest (2020-2025)

Season 1 - 9 episodes (2020)
Specials -2 episodes (2020-21)
Season 2 - 9 episodes (2021)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2023)
Season 4 - 10 episodes (2025)
Rent Mythic Quest on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, Rob McElhenney
Starring: Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis, Imani Hakim, David Hornsby, F. Murray Abraham, Naomi Ekperigin
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
The head of a successful video game development company and his troubled staff struggle to keep their hit game on top.

Verdict
I enjoyed the first two seasons well enough. This is a workplace comedy at a video game developer, and all of the characters are varying degrees of ridiculous. The first season is the most focused on the world of video games. That's what made this unique.  Seasons three and four are less about video games and more about increasingly sillier work place dynamics. While the first two seasons each included a serious episode that provided insight, the last season lacks any kind of focus. The first season was promising, and I was curious how it would explore the world of games. The series never capitalizes on that, instead becoming increasingly generic.
It depends.

Review
Canceled after the fourth season, an updated fourth season finale was later released. I enjoyed the first season well enough, but each successive season was less interesting. I wouldn't recommend the final season at all. It's scattered, focusing on the characters' neuroses instead of giving them an overarching goal for the season.

With season one, this is a show geared to video game culture that happens to be a workplace comedy. It's a look at how video games are created and maintained as well as how fickle public response can be. That's lost in later seasons.

Ian (Rob McElhenney) is the creative director of the most successful MMORPG as the studio plans a new DLC. He's completely self absorbed, a ridiculous artist type. All of the characters are ridiculous and self absorbed which causes conflict and makes the show fun. Lead programmer Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) wants to introduce a shovel as a fun game mechanic. Ian wants it to be a weapon. David (David Hornsby) is the insecure executive producer caught in the middle. The game company is beholden to the online reviews of a twelve year old streamer, "Pootie_Shoe."

S1: Rob McElhenney plays Ian Grimm

I wondered how closely this mimics reality. I have to imagine a self absorbed creative director obsessed with their own success happens frequently. The show doesn't delve into the downsides of the industry like crunch time and long hours. It's a comedic look at how they maintain the game and address issues. In one episode they discover they have a sizable hate group playing the game. They have to figure out how to identify and isolate the group. Ian introduces a salute he thinks the group will like.

C.W. (F. Murray Abraham) is the slightly creepy game writer that's only concerned with the story. He's not the best at his craft, but he is devoted.

Episode five is a one off, an isolated story that looks at how a game idea is transformed and altered for profit, marketing, and appeal. The original unique concept becomes streamlined just to make money as art and detail is abandoned. Being a silly workplace comedy, I didn't expect this to introduce a poignant story. The episode is a corollary to the Mythic Quest game. It's easy to lose the original concept and ingenuity to make enough money to sustain the game and then just focus on profit.

There are frequent in game time lapses that remind me of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, though the in-game characters we see have a different aesthetic. In fact the series does use footage from that game among others.

Between the first and second season this released two special episodes, one a pandemic focused episode that culminates in a cross screen Zoom trick which is completely amazing. The other episode is a return to office party.

Special 2: Charlotte Nicdao, Rob McElhenney play Poppy Li, Ian Grimm

Season two begins with Ian on sabbatical. He and Poppy are co-creative leads, and they don't work together well.

The C.W. backstory episode has such a different tone from the rest of the season. We see how this award winning writer got his start. He's not that great of a writer, but it also provides a reason for why he wanted to write for a video game. That's a special moment. Despite how silly this show can be, we get these episodes that lend backstory in a self contained episode.

Brad and Jo have quite the workplace dynamic. Nearly all of it is unexpected as they are ruthless and exacting.

This season is less about video games and more about interpersonal conflict. At the end Ian and Poppy decide that they've reached the end of the Mythic Quest story and need to create something new.

After season two F. Murray Abraham was removed from the show due to sexual harassment complaints.

S1: Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby play Ian Grimm, Poppy Li, David Brittlesbee

Season three jumps a year ahead. While Ian and Poppy are working on their own game, they still spend a lot of time at Mythic Quest as both studios are in the same building, and they use a lot of MQ's resources. Brad returns as a janitor, but he slowly slips into his old role as head of monetization. This season's dramatic episode features Ian and Poppy as children where we see their creative influences.

With season four Ian and Poppy are back at Mythic Quest. The first episode is about boundaries, both personal and work. There's also a murder mystery episode.

I liked that this was set in the video game industry. After the first season this becomes a workplace comedy. There's less a focus on games. Initially it felt like an inside take, looking at development and testing. Season four especially feels scattered. Pootie_Shoe is back, last appearing in season one. It's strange to bring him back now.

This wasn't planned as the last season, but the series was later canceled. In the final episode Ian and Poppy originally kissed. This was replaced after the series cancellation where they hug and then start bickering. The original episode is unavailable.