Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet

Set in a world that's filled with absurdity even in real life, and stocked with lovable actors playing appealingly quirky characters, this series is destined to be the next great workplace comedy. Fans of Always Sunny already know, of course, that its writers know how to craft ridiculous situations stuffed with hilarious jokes; what elevates Mythic Quest above Always Sunny is the strong thread of sincerity running through the show. Always Sunny resolutely refused to indulge in moments where characters learned lessons or hugged, a great choice for a dark comedy, but one which often kept the characters from connecting with each other. Mythic Quest, in contrast, often pauses the flow of knowing jokes for moments that feel real.

Poppy, for example, is permanently exasperated with Ian as well as with the industry she works in, where talented women are overlooked and overworked while some guy gets the credit. Ian is a blowhard and a smug tool, but we get backstory that explains how he got that way. And the romantic tension between Dana and Rachel is a reliable source of laughs, but the show takes both characters and their attraction seriously. But it's the fifth episode that really signals Mythic Quest is up to something different than jokes about a bunch of funny sociopaths as we travel back in time to the 1990s when a hopeful young couple struggles to launch their own game. Pausing antics in order to tell a dramatic and wistful short story? It's an odd choice, and a wonderful one. The American version of The Office was criticized when it came out for leavening its comedy with romantic complications and human drama -- but we all know how that came out in the end. Mythic Quest has the potential to be another Office; let's all hope it gets there.