'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' Is The Latest Series To Deliver A Remotely Produced Episode

The comedy series Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet premiered on Apple TV+ back in February, and the show following the developers of a popular video game has already been given a second season order. Production on the new season of the show was halted when every other movie and TV show shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that didn't stop co-creator, executive producer, writer and star Rob McElhenney (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) from putting together a new episode that was written, filmed and edited in quarantine. Get the details below.

Apple TV+ announced the Mythic Quest: Quarantine special episode that will follow the team behind the titular video game as they work from home. Here's the official synopsis for the new episode that came together while sheltering at home:

"Mythic Quest: Quarantine is a new, half-hour installment that finds the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all-time tasked with working from home. Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (Rob McElhenney) struggle with solitude, while Brad (Danny Pudi) and David (David Hornsby) start a charitable competition. Assistant Jo (Jessie Ennis) tries to explain video-conferencing to C.W. (F. Murray Abraham) with mixed results.

Also joining in on the remotely produced episode will be Imani Hakim, Ashly Burch, Craig Mazin, Naomi Ekperigin, Caitlin McGee, and Humphrey Ker. McElhenney, who executive produces the series with Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, also wrote the episode and offered up his reasoning for doing a remotely produced edition of the show:

"Lots of workplaces are figuring out this whole working-from-home thing, and the gaming industry is no different. Virtual meetings are a new and special kind of hell, so I think people will relate. Yes we've all had low points, but there have also been incredible moments of triumph and we wanted to celebrate that."

As for how they pulled it off, the episode was shot entirely on iPhones, because it's an Apple TV+ show, and everything is a commercial for something else. McElhenney elaborated:

"We needed to shoot this episode fast without sacrificing quality. Thankfully, we're living in a time when everyone's got a camera in their pocket. Having an iPhone coupled with the ingenuity of our crew, allowed us to make this unique piece of television in just days. We hope people enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it."

Though late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live have done multiple remotely produced iterations of programming, only a couple narrative shows have taken on the challenge. Parks and Recreation was the first one out of the gate after the show ended years ago, and the legal drama All Rise did a remotely produced episode earlier this month too. Otherwise, most shows have been forced to end seasons early or improvise using other methods to complete season finales. Hopefully the gang at Mythic Quest figured out a way to make it work.

Mythic Quest: Quarantine debuts on Apple TV+ on May 22, 2020.