BB: Speaking of Ian and Poppy, my read is that you've kind of gone out of your way to make sure it's more of a sibling dynamic than a “will they, won't they” relationship like in typical sitcoms. Can you talk a little about their dynamic?

CN: Poppy and Ian are really trying to navigate a new space, which is one where Ian doesn't automatically have more power than [Poppy] does, and I think Ian certainly struggles with that. Although, when we come into Season Three, we see him really doing his best to be a good support for Poppy. But the thing that I found most interesting about the new dynamic is that Poppy has already proven in Season Two that she hasn't really developed the skills to be a boss, you know, to run things. She crumbles under that pressure in Season Two, and in Season Three, it's like she's determined to prove that she can really do it, often to her own detriment. I do think that she makes some strides in creating something that she's proud of, but I think that she does it at a high cost to herself and to very funny results.

DH: You know, I don't know if the audience wants a “will they, won't they.” I don't know. We do what we think works for the story. I think, just speaking for myself, I think that it’s more powerful to have a relationship that doesn't necessarily turn to romance but shows the complicated dynamic of both a creative artistic partnership and a friendship. That in itself feels like it could use the respect it deserves as a storyline to tell, and that, in a sense to me, could be more powerful than a “will they, won't they.”

BB: I absolutely agree, and I think Mythic Quest is better for that, not falling down the rabbit hole of typical tropes.

DH: No, totally. And a 14-year-old might disagree, wanting to see them make out *laughs*, but I don't know. We feel it's more powerful to see them as, you know, that push and pull of the respect they have for each other, but also the sort of deep, intrinsic difference that they have too.

BB: Switching gears if I may…Danny, I recently described your character, Brad Bakshi, as being like Abed [from Community] via Bret Easton Ellis…kind of like American Psycho Abed. Was that a decision you made or just something you kind of fell into because you played Abed for so long?

DP: *laughs* I've never heard that, so I will say that's new. But I like it, I think it's interesting. I don't know. I mean, I think there's something fun about playing a character who is hyper-focused and has a plan. You know, there's this plan, this meticulousness that I think maybe has some of that American Psycho feel there with Brad. I think that's just something that I talked over with [show co-creator] Megan Ganz, who also worked on Community so she was familiar with me as a performer and I think we have a little bit of a shorthand, when we were kind of developing this role and working in this world together. And I think some of that stuff is just, you know, reading what the writers write, then kind of putting it into my body. Personally, my visualization isn't American Psycho, it's Wile E. Coyote. *laughs* That was the first image that popped in my head when reading and thinking about this role, but I'm glad it's resonating in that way too. *laughs*

BB: Jessie…I have a question for you from one of our readers. Who do you think your character, Jo, enjoyed working for the most? And, dead or alive, who do you think would be her dream mentor?

JE: Hmm, probably the Dean at the all-boys military academy she went to, I think that would be her dream mentor. And who did she like working for the most? I think she really wanted to work for Ian in the first season. I mean, she did some work for him. Was it requested of her? Was she technically working for him? Was she being paid to work for him? Absolutely not. I think she loved working for Brad, but she was so full of herself and a little too big for her britches there. So, she kind of scorched that Earth. Now, she's really channeling her energy into working for David (David Hornsby), who she recognizes is not a very powerful man, but she has tricked herself into caring.

BB: David… a lot of people know you as Rickety Cricket on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. For me, when I look at Always Sunny, it feels kind of like a raw rock band playing in a small, one room-venue…you know, a more visceral feeling…whereas Mythic Quest feels like the polished arena tour. As executive producer and writer for both shows, how is your approach different for each show?

DH: Good question. I mean, Sunny and Mythic Quest are very different shows. I think they're going to retain some similarities, right? How we interact with each other; in some ways, how we work together behind the scenes. But Sunny is, you know, in a sense, a live action cartoon. It's very broad characters, very satirizing. Characters, who never learn, satirizing, you know, the American experience in different ways. I think with this show… if anything, it might be a reaction to the other. So, over there, we're writing that kind of show, then with Mythic Quest, we want to craft something with more pathos that is very funny but tries not to go to the same wells of comedy or dynamics. And for me, just having my face without a prosthetic on it is always a bonus. *laughs*

BB: Also, speaking of Cricket, I think your character in Mythic Quest, David Brittlesbee, is almost like a white-collar Cricket, where the world hasn’t really been his friend so much. What draws you to that kind of character?

DH: *Laughs* I think every project has a little doorway that you kind of open up, and you don't quite know what's behind it. There's just something that attracts you to open that door. So, for one, I think it's working with the people that I work with. On Sunny, in a slightly different tone of show, I can also still do something that's maybe close to my area of comedy. But, in the beginning [of this show], we explored, “Oh, should I play Brad? Should I play David? Have we seen me do something too much like David in some aspect of Cricket, etc.” I think for this, I wanted to explore a character that is in a similar realm to something in my wheelhouse. But we will reveal more things as the seasons go, right? So you can kind of play within that new sandbox and still not do something completely different. I think looking ahead, it would be fun, not just in this show to do something different, but in a different [role] to do something that feels very different. I mean, Good Girls was a chance to do that, but I think that's always the challenge. You want to stretch yourself, but sometimes you don't want to go too far afield because you want to just take it step-by-step in a way. It's always fun to challenge yourself with new things.

BB: Naomi… on screen, you're often the only sane one in the madhouse. Does it feel that way when you're on set? Do you sometimes look over and wish you were having as much fun as the clowns? *laughs*

DP: *Raises a fist in fake anger* Careful!! *laughs*

BB: *laughs* With all due respect!

NE: *laughs* When we're shooting, I’m the craziest one, okay? When the cameras aren't rolling, I'm like, “Is it good? Did you like it? Is everyone okay?” So, you know, what I'm telling you, Quentin, is that I am ACT-ING, okay? *laughs* I am truly mad, and it is so fun to play a character who has it together. Oh my god, what fun to pretend to have your -ish together.

DP: Yeah, she's only vocalizing what we're all feeling on the inside. We know each of us are unraveling quickly. *laughs*

Check out Season Three of Mythic Quest, premiering November 11th on Apple TV+.

Interview conducted on November 2nd, 2022 by Quentin Lester.

INTERVIEWS