Apple’s ‘Mythic Quest’ Comes to an End
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
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Long before Ted Lasso came along and captivated audiences, there was Mythic Quest, Apple’s first sitcom-style comedy series. It debuted on February 7, 2020, only three months after Apple TV+ launched. Now, after four seasons, it appears the venerable show has reached its final conclusion.
While Mythic Quest didn’t bring in record viewers or win any Emmys, it was a fun and whimsical show that was well received by both critics and viewers and also had a loyal fan base, with an average 97% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The workplace comedy was helmed by Rob McElhenney, best known for his work on the long-running comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and featured a fictitious game development studio loosely based on Ubisoft, which spearheaded the show’s creation, partnering with Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment to produce the series.
McElhenney was approached by Ubisoft to create the show and brought on his Always Sunny co-star and co-writer Charlie Day, along with The Onion editor and comedy writer Megan Ganz, who had also written for Modern Family, which inspired some of Mythic Quest’s single-camera “mockumentary” style.
In what is essentially a parody of the world of game development, Mythic Quest followed a team of developers responsible for “the biggest massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) of all time” as they ramp up for their first major expansion under the leadership of Ian Grimm (McElhenney), the super-egotistical “visionary” creative director of the firm.
Mythic Quest also had a hallmark moment during the global COVID-19 pandemic when it produced and released a special quarantine episode that was shot entirely on iPhones. The idea came from McElhenney, who had no problem convincing Apple to provide the necessary hardware, rapidly shipping out 40 new iPhones and 20 sets of earbuds to the homes of cast and crew members. Megan Ganz co-wrote the classic 2015 Modern Family episode “Connection Lost,” which took place entirely via FaceTime, but that one took three months to edit; Mythic Quest: Quarantine was written, shot, edited, and ready to air in only three weeks.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and that includes Mythic Quest. The show was picked up for a second season before it even aired and was renewed for two more seasons in 2021. It also spawned a four-episode spinoff anthology, Side Quest, which explored the lives of creators and fans of the show’s fictitious MMORPG. The season 4 finale aired on March 26, but it turns out that’s not quite the end.
According to an exclusive report by Variety, now that the show won’t be returning for a fifth season, it’s getting an extra finale episode to wrap things up that will premiere next week on Apple TV+.
“Endings are hard. But after four incredible seasons, ‘Mythic Quest’ is coming to a close,” series executive producers Megan Ganz, David Hornsby, and Rob McElhenney told Variety. “We’re so proud of the show and the world we got to build — and deeply grateful to every cast and crew member who poured their heart into it. To all our fans, thank you for playing with us. To our partners at Apple, thank you for believing in the vision from the very beginning. Because endings are hard, with Apple’s blessing we made one final update to our last episode — so we could say goodbye, instead of just game over.”
