‘Mythic Quest’s Rob McElhenny and Megan Ganz Explain Why Their Gaming Comedy Feels So Relatable

One of the best new shows on television has managed to turn a video game development company into a full-blown Shakespearean saga, and it’s all thanks to Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet co-creators Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz. Ahead of the premiere of the Apple TV+ original, Decider spoke to McElhenney and Ganz about their inspiration for their gaming comedy, why their two leads will never get together, and what’s ahead for Season 2.

The comedy follows the day-to-day antics of a game development studio responsible for the wildly successful MMORPG Mythic Quest. Most episodes follow the same general formula. Ian (McElhenney), Mythic Quest’s eccentric creator, will come up with a new, random story idea that he has no idea how to execute. That leaves his harried head of development Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao), his spineless producer David (David Hornsby), and his smug head of marketing Brad (Danny Pudi) to build his vision from next to nothing.

It’s a constantly stressful premise that’s ripe for comedy. It’s also one that shines a light on the toxic masculinity that runs rampant in the gaming industry. “It sort of just seemed unavoidable to talk about the industry and not reference it in any way, you know?” Ganz said. “We have a very balanced cast in terms of gender. So to have that and just act like ‘Oh yeah, this is the way that all dev studios look’ would have felt disingenuous.”

Ganz noted that this sexism is something the television industry has been struggling with as well. In that regard there was a universality to addressing these themes. “It’s high stakes for the companies. They want to look good, and whenever somebody’s trying to present themselves one way and acting a different way, there’s always that space for comedy in the middle,” Ganz explained. “So we tried to keep it light and very comical but also realistic.”

When it came to actually designing the game of Mythic Quest itself, McElhenney and Ganz looked to the most popular MMORPG of all time: World of Warcraft. “It wasn’t anything specific about Warcraft other than most people outside of the gaming industry have heard of it and so it would resonate with people as a thing,” McElhenney explained. “Whether or not you play games, you realize that this was an experience that was on a global scale. We wanted to make sure that people understood that.”

Early on the the creative team decided to bifurcate the writer’s room into two groups. One group was composed of avid gamers and people who had worked in dev studios. “The other half couldn’t give two shits about games at all,” McElhenney said. “We wanted to make sure that anybody could step into the show, watch it, and say, ‘Oh I see myself there because I’ve had this crazy boss,’ or ‘I love games,’ or ‘This resonates with me because I work in HR.'”

“Or, ‘I work with all dudes and I’m a woman,” Ganz added.

“Exactly,” McElhenney said.

Prior to its release, the Apple TV+ original has already been renewed for a second season. At the time of their interview with Decider, McElhenney and Ganz were in the middle of planning Season 2’s future. But they do know for a fact one thing that absolutely isn’t going to happen in their show.

“Luckily we don’t have to ever worry about a romantic relationship between [Ian and Poppy] because I’m 20 years older than her and it would just be creepy,” McElhenney said before adding, “Although that hasn’t stopped Hollywood before.”

“He keeps saying this, and I’m like, ‘People are gonna want them to get together regardless of that factor,” Ganz joked.

“We just don’t think about it in those terms at all,” McElhenney said. “But look this is us in Season 2. What happens when we get to Season 14?”

At the moment Season 1 ends with Poppy’s role changing within Mythic Quest. “That’s the launching off point for Season 2. How are these two people, who have always had a very specific dynamic of one person in charge — painter and paintbrush — what are they going to do when they’re on the same level? And how are they gonna work together?” McElhenney said. “What we start the season exploring is can you ever really be equals in a thing like this? Especially when one person created the game and brought the other person onboard?”

But what McElhenney and Ganz are most excited about is really diving into the rest of the characters in this ensemble comedy. “You spend an entire season really focusing on Poppy and Ian, and I think what I’m so excited about for the second season is we delve into the other characters and start fleshing them out as people,” McElhenney teased. “And god our cast is so talented. We’ve got a bunch of home run episodes lined up I’m very excited about.”

All episodes of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet are currently on Apple TV+.

Watch Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet on Apple TV+