The first two episodes from season two of the workplace comedy Mythic Quest landed on Apple TV Plus on May 7, as reported by The A.V. Club. In recent interview, the series’ star and co-creator Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) explained how the intended plan of attack for season two had to be scrapped in order to tell new stories that reflect the contemporary climate: “We threw out all the scripts… It was miserable. We were devastated. We had just worked for months, and we realized the world is different now… Over the break, we wrote an entirely new season, and that’s what we shot,” via CBR.
One key change had to do with F. Murray Abraham’s (Amadeus) character, fantasy writer C.W. Longbottom. The character is allegedly at the center of a dramatic episode-length flashback later on in season two, The A.V. Club reports. In the interest of health and safety, McElhenney advised Abraham against making frequent appearances on the set, fearing that the Academy Award winner was at great risk of contracting COVID-19, according to Variety. McElhenney therefore devised an alternate solution: “The first batch of episodes see… Longbottom still working remotely, although the rest of the office has gone back to in-person work in post-pandemic world,” via Variety.
Mythic Quest previously discussed the effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on corporate workplace procedures in “Quarantine,” the first of two specials that were produced in advance of season two. “Everlight,” the second special, was released few weeks ahead of the season two premiere and saw the characters celebrating their return to the office with a live-action role play party, according to CBR.
The final moments of Mythic Quest season one saw game designer Ian Grimm (McElhenney) offer lead engineer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao, Kuu Kuu Harajuku) the position of co-creative director on Mythic Quest, the multiplayer video game for which the show is named, via Den of Geek. Season two sees Ian and Poppy butt heads over everything and jockey for authority: “The clash between two titanic egos — smooth-talking ideas guy Ian on one hand, technical perfectionist Poppy on the other — produces the typical overblown shouting matches, mutual accusations of ‘cancellation’ and occasional tortured divorce metaphors that you might expect,” via The A.V. Club.
Season two also features new characters played by Chris Naoki Lee (Too Old To Die Young) and Jonathan Wiggs (The Invite), both of whom were introduced via the inter-season specials. While Aparna Nancherla (Bojack Horseman) is absent from season two, many of the other members of the supporting cast, such as Danny Pudi (Community) and Jessie Ennis (Love) are allegedly back in full effect, The A.V. Club reports. Ennis’s close friend Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) posted on Twitter about how proud she is of Ennis’s work in the series.