Charlotte Nicdao and David Hornsby Talk ‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4, Directing, and AI [Interview]

With the first two episodes of Mythic Quest Season 4 out, fans are getting ready to dive back into the complex calamities of Mythic Quest’s team dynamics.

Two of those dynamics revolve around the head of Mythic Quest, Ian Grimm, who’s more or less well-rounded since fans saw him in Season 3. At his side is Poppy Li, lead engineer-turned-Ian’s co-creator, who found herself in a relationship that’s starting to shake their friendship.

Right above Ian and Poppy is David, Mythic Quest’s somewhat needy executive producer, who’s really longing for Ian’s friendship in the end. Through Poppy and David, Ian has a lot to confront with only so much time, given the slow, yet inevitable, incoming changes.

To get a better sense of what’s in store for this dynamic, I got to talk with Charlotte Nicdao and David Hornsby about Mythic Quest Season 4, Nicdao’s process in directing Mythic Quest Season 4 Episode 2 “1000%” and the inevitability of artificial intelligence. (You can watch the full interview below.)

In fact, Mythic Quest Season 4 Episode 2 marks the first time that Nicdao has directed an episode. Though Nicdao was initially nervous about stepping up to direct, the collaborative environment really helped her adjust to this new process. 

“It’s been collaborative from the start, but I think it’s become more and more [of] everyone’s baby,” Nicdao said. “The show is just so precious to us because we all have these different ways that we contribute to making it now, which is, I mean, it’s a dream.”

“[Directing] was something that was really exciting to me, but it’s something that I hadn’t really done before, especially to this level,” Nicdao continued. “But, I will say that when I got the script that [David Hornsby] had written, a lot of those nerves were alleviated.”

Watch the full interview with Charlotte Nicdao and David Horsby:

Additionally, Nicdao stated her favorite part about directing that episode was getting to create some hilarious moments. “There are scenes in that episode where I am directing myself and myself in a scene, and there was no one else on set,” Nicdao said.

Furthermore, Hornsby also recounted what was the most interesting about writing that episode.

“We always thought it was interesting if we could put the Ian and Poppy chat box together, in a sense, and let them argue out their own problems,” he said.

On the respective dynamics with Ian, Nicdao and Hornsby teased what Poppy and David are going to go through as they deal with these new relationships. With Ian on both sides of trying to make these dynamics work, both Poppy and David will keep up with Ian’s creative “insanity.”

“For David this season, with Poppy having a boyfriend, he sees an opportunity to swoop in and build some bridges and make a real friendship,” Hornsby said. “It’ll be fun for the audience to see David try to bring Ian into his world, show him his Cerritos with Ian!”

“I think that we kind of pick up with Poppy and Ian maybe the healthiest their relationship has ever been,” Nicdao added. “That just means that there’s a much further way to fall for them. I love getting to work with [Rob McElhenney]. I feel like we have so much fun on set and you really see that on screen.”

One of the episodes that really showcases that full dramatic change is Mythic Quest Season 4 Episode 9, “Telephone.” Though fans haven’t seen it yet, the concept, and filming around that idea, was a small return for Mythic Quest Season 4.

“We had a bit of training on that because of quarantine, right? We filmed [Mythic Quest: Quarantine] on phones at one point,” Nicdao said. “There was a little bit of groundwork done there, but it was definitely a fun challenge, right?”

“It’s a technical nightmare,” Hornsby said. “I think at the end, we’re like, ‘Let’s never do this FaceTime phone thing again.’ You have to shoot several versions of, ‘Ok, you’ve got a camera here, then we’re going to have the camera here on a next take. Then, we gotta get an insert of the camera.’ It is a little bit like acting to a tennis ball.”

“Actually, I prefer [it], if I’m honest with you,” Hornsby laughed. “The payoff is worth it, it presents itself as a challenge, but it’s worth it.”

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*Interview edited and condensed for clarity.

Mythic Quest Season 4 premieres on Wednesday, January 29, on Apple TV+.

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