Georgia Humphreys

time, called – you’ve guessed it – Mythic Quest.

Played online, the multiplayer, role-playing game is similar to World of Warcraft, and the show follows Ian and his various co-workers’ battles, friendships, romances, and personal challenges, as (almost everyone) returns to work in the office, with the quarantine finally over. The biggest change in the new episodes is that Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) has a new role as co-creative director – leading to lots of struggles between her and Ian regarding the game’s new expansion, following the success of the last expansion pack, called Raven’s Banquet.

Michigan-born Megan Ganz,

36, is one of the show’s creators and executive producers and likes that we get to see a woman in charge, now that Poppy is a boss.

“She used to be under Ian, she used to be able to complain about him all the time, and convince herself that she would do things differently if she was the boss, and this year we’re going to see if she can put her money where her mouth is. And that’s a really fun thing to play – seeing somebody’s dreams come true and how that doesn’t always go the way you think it will.”

Another returning character is CW Longbottom, who is a seasoned storyteller for the video game.

The actor behind this role is Oscar-winner F Murray Abraham, 81, who says he felt incredibly hopeful returning to work after shooting remotely, because he really missed the company.

“But it’s also a chance to make people laugh – and I can’t tell you how much I love that,” continues the Pittsburgh native, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1984 drama Amadeus.

“I love jokes, for one thing, and this is an opportunity to gather people together through their laughter, and it’s wonderful that they can laugh at this old guy.

“They care for all the

Charlotte Nicdao as Poppy

characters but they care a lot about C.W in particular. I think they admire him as much as think he’s kind of silly. I love him.”

One reason why the show has struck a chord with viewers is perhaps because, like with many work teams, the Mythic Quest team are like one big dysfunctional family; even though they’re different generations, they (mostly) work well together.

“We’re not afraid of sometimes doing things that aren’t necessarily to make you laugh, but maybe just reflect back to you the way you’re feeling or the way you have felt in certain situations before – and I think people really responded to that, especially during quarantine,” continues writer Megan, who’s also worked on hit shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Community and Modern Family.

“We wanted to explore all aspects of what it is to be a human,” suggests Rob addressing the show’s appeal.

“So, yes, we’re making a comedy, and first and foremost we want to entertain, secondly we want to make people laugh.

“But we think it’s important that, if you’re going to present fully fleshed-out human beings, you see all sides of them, and what it is to experience the difficulty of navigating interpersonal relationships in an office – people you’re stuck together with.

“Sometimes that can get dramatic and dark, and we wanted to go to those places.”