It feels like a lost art in 2025, but the spinoff of a comedy series remains a popular proposition for TV creatives. However, if your show is not directly tied to surprisingly big IPs, like Big Bang Theory or 9-1-1, TV executives seem less likely to buy the pitch. Side Quest comes from the writers of Mythic Quest, specifically Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris, and Katie McElhenney.
With Rob McElhenney returning briefly, the show hopes to expand the world created by Mythic Quest, instead focusing on the people at the edges of the series. In some moments, Side Quest recreates the brilliance the show has been known for with its tangent episodes. However, one cannot help but wonder if these episodes would have been stronger in the context of the existing show.
Side Quest – The Plots
Embracing an anthology style, Side Quest tells four stories in the world of Mythic Quest. One focuses on the work-life balance of art department leader Phil (Derek Waters), and the pressures of Ian’s demands on his personal life. The second is a bottle episode inside a comic book shop, where a new Mythic Quest comic is due to be released, but there are not enough copies for everyone to enjoy. The third episode follows a young cellist whose aspirations to play for the world’s most popular video game composer cause her anxiety to spiral out of control. Finally, a group of friends get together for one last guild quest on Mythic Quest.
Side Quest Needs to Show More Separation from Mythic Quest
Throughout Mythic Quest‘s run, one of the more intriguing aspects of the show has been its ability to step outside of the core story. To this day, most audiences rank episodes like “A Dark Quiet Death” and “Backstory!” as the show’s best episodes. While they provide more context as outsider stories within the larger Mythic Quest frame, it helped prove the writers were far more ambitious than simply focusing on a video game company.
While those episodes stepped outside of Mythic Quest to tell most of their stories, Side Quest feels too close to it. The two most successful episodes of Side Quest — “Pull List” and “Fugue” — have almost nothing to do with the characters from the original show. However, with two episodes tied directly to the game, Side Quest feels like a half-hearted attempt to diversify the stories it wants to tell. More to the point, “Song and Dance” and “The Last Raid” feel like Mythic Quest episodes that were cut from the regular show.
The emotions of Side Quest are big enough to sustain the series.
While we wish there were more distance from the Mythic Quest characters, the actual writing in these episodes is fantastic. Even though Derek Waters created a successful career with Drunk History and guest starring across other shows, “Song and Dance” proves he can pull off dramatic beats when given the task. He’s excellent in his role and overshadows the consistent interruptions from Rob McElhenney.
“Pull List” gets to the heart of geek culture and questions the ownership of these spaces. Anyone who has attended a convention or spent a game night at a shop has met these characters. There’s a lot to love from the performances by Bria Henderson, Shaita Grant, and Rome Flynn. By allowing the episode to open questions about what it means for a person of color to enter a nerd space, “Pull List” shines a light on the emotional toll gatekeeping can have on a person.
The season’s standout episode, “Fugue” asks how someone can take a passion and turn it into their career. Featuring brilliant performances from Annamarie Kasper and Esai Morales, “Fugue” is a devastating piece of storytelling that watches its protagonist struggle with their confidence and self-belief. As Kasper navigates the emotion of her scenes, the purpose of Side Quest is clear, and we cannot help but fall in love with the unique ways this episode handles very complex questions.
Finally, “The Last Raid” gets into incredible emotional truths from its characters. As people grow apart and struggle to hold onto a feeling they once had, the effects can be devastating. Placing the episode inside the world of Mythic Quest is the only aspect that hurts it because the fake visuals of the game within the game pale in comparison to the cut scenes Mythic Quest presents. While it is common that cut scene cinematics and gameplay footage are varied, there has been more than enough time spent with actual gamers on the flagship series. We cannot help but wonder if another setting for this friend group would be more helpful in landing the story’s emotions.
Is Side Quest worth watching?
Whether you are a Mythic Quest fan or not, there are plenty of big ideas in Side Quest worth exploring. While further distance from the other series would have helped Side Quest shine brighter, the explorations of unique stories connected to the larger video game universe are special. We would love to see more episodes of Side Quest that resemble “Fugue” or “Pull List,” and hopefully, a second round of episodes can find their way to Apple TV+ soon.
Watch Side Quest on Apple TV+ on March 26, 2025. All four episodes will air on the same day.
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