David Hornsby breaks down trailer for Mythic Quest's boundary-setting season 4
The most surprising takeaway from this morning’s new Mythic Quest trailer is that Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney) are getting along swimmingly. As vain co-creative directors of the eponymous video game company, the two usually quarrel while concocting ideas. Well, in this newly released season four footage, they’ve accepted they’re BFFs for real. Series star and producer David Hornsby tells The A.V. Club it’s the ideal next stage of their relationship after Poppy and Ian declared their (platonic) love for each other in the season three finale: “So the theme [this season] is of setting healthy boundaries, and all of our characters having to wrestle with it.”
An automatic threshold is set when Ian realizes that the socially awkward, workaholic Poppy has a lover. A secret lover, in fact, who prompts her to make bad double entendres in the office. Hornsby says a boyfriend was the best way to test the new nature of their friendship. “We’ve done a lot with the friction between them, but we wanted to explore what true intimacy is like and what might feel like a violation of it,” he adds. So does it mean Ian’s seemingly cool front might explode with jealousy? Hornsby teases “physiological reactions and full deniability,” leading to a more evolved McElhenney performance than we’re used to.
Poppy and Ian are the beating heart of Mythic Quest, which premiered on Apple TV+ in 2020 and has remained ingenious, if underrated, going into season four. Co-created by McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charlie Day, the workplace comedy centers on MQ employees as they struggle to keep up with the pressures of their jobs and maintain some semblance of a personal life. The show’s writing skewers the gaming industry and an artists-versus-corporate environment. The trailer points out that girlfriends Dana (Imani Hakim) and Rachel (Ashley Burch) will have to deal with the latter issue as well. Dana is now a rising MQ star with the success of her Playpen program, while Rachel has become the right-hand woman for executive director David Brittlesbee (Hornsby). Hornsby, who often co-writes for the show, says contending with their own personal and professional boundaries may be tough when “their ambition consumes them to the point where they don't recognize themselves anymore.”
Meanwhile, David and Rachel are subpoenaed to appear in front of a Congressional committee. As seen in the season four clip, Rachel gets her Cousin Greg from Succession moment when she embarrasses herself on national news. “It’s fun to watch the most self-righteous person struggle with their ego and put them in the dilemma of ethics versus their primal wants,” Hornsby says of Rachel’s season four arc. “She wants to use her platform because she finally has one, while David just wants to blend into his chair and disappear.” If you look closely, Hornsby’s character literally, woefully shrinks back into his seat.
Elsewhere, power-hungry assistant Jo (Jessie Ennis) and money man Brad (Danny Pudi) go through a bit of an identity crisis. Thanks to their eccentric personalities, Hornsby says MQ can “go a little farther with them” in terms of comedy: “Jo has already achieved so much, but in season four, she figures out what she wants to truly do if given the opportunity.” Brad, with his prison time and janitor duties behind him, schemes to make Dana the next big thing. But what if his plans get thwarted by—gasp—romance? “It’s interesting to see if this cold-hearted person can be vulnerable and if his priority can ever be the love of a woman,” Hornsby notes. “We have a certain angle into that story that I’m excited for people to see because we tell it in a slightly different way than you might expect.”
Mythic Quest is also known for a standalone episode each season. Season one’s “Dark Quiet Death” is, frankly, a masterpiece, while other flashback installments have focused on the emotional backstories of Poppy, Ian, and C.W. Longbottom. Hornsby says they wanted to shake the angle up a bit for season four, confirming this year’s self-contained half-hour is going to be an Agatha Christie homage. The trailer offers a glimpse at this, with Dana and Rachel in old-timey costumes and Ian strutting in a dapper white suit. “We’re always looking for ways to elevate from being in an office space, so we have a Glass Onion sort of episode that raises the stakes for our characters in a signature MQ way,” Hornsby adds.
While it’s a potent, funny ensemble, the throughline remains Poppy and Ian’s angst. It’s not necessarily romantic or sexual just because it’s a man and a woman, Hornsby steadfastly says. Don’t let the heightened angst between them in season four fool you. “There’s also an age difference there, so it would be weird. Their intimacy goes beyond a will-they-won’t-they Sam and Diane situation.” Once Ian starts feeling a little lonely though, Hornsby says his character swoops in, seeing it as an opportunity to take advantage of Ian’s state and score an official friendship. Is that why the two are standing on a beach in the trailer, with David aghast at a stark-naked Ian? “It’s what the fans demanded,” Hornsby jokes. “You’re going to see oodles of pale, bronze-colored flesh.”
Mythic Quest launches season four with two episodes on January 29 on Apple TV+, although Hornsby ends by adding they want to make more. “I know it was a long wait, but we’re hoping to get more eyes—we’re not Ted Lasso—so we can get a season five,” he jokes. “It all depends on the fans. Email your congressman!”