TV viewers have been left furious after the sudden cancellation of one of Apple’s longest-running shows.
It has been announced that comedy series Mythic Quest, starring and produced by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob McElhenney, will not be returning after season four.
In an unprecedented move, the show’s finale, which ended last month on a cliffhanger, is being “updated” to bring the story to a close.
The new ending will be added to the episode later this month. The sitcom, showing the inner workings of a video game studio, was one of Apple’s first forays into TV.
It received acclaim over its four-season run – and earnt a spin-off, titled Side Quest, which was released earlier this year.
“Endings are hard. But after four incredible seasons, Mythic Quest is coming to a close,” executive producers Megan Ganz, David Hornsby, and McElhenney said of the news.
“We’re so proud of the show and the world we got to build – and deeply grateful to every cast and crew member who poured their heart into it. To all our fans, thank you for playing with us.
“To our partners at Apple, thank you for believing in the vision from the very beginning. Because endings are hard, with Apple’s blessing we made one final update to our last episode – so we could say goodbye, instead of just game over.”
Fans are expressing their sadness over the show’s cancellation, and the news has been called everything from “disappointing” to “short sighted”.
“This is an insult,” one person complained, with another stating: “Having your show cancelled and you have to redo the finale because it’s now the SERIES FINALE is beyond f***ed up.”
Many others questioned whether Apple promoted the show enough.
“Latest victim of the frustrating trend of streaming services not promoting a show at all and then cancelling it. What happened to building and nurturing an audience?” a viewer wrote on X/Twitter
“Particularly puzzling considering the good reviews + the fact that they released a spinoff just last month...
McElhenney starred in the series alongside Charlotte Nicdao, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Imani Hakim, Jessie Ennis, Naomi Ekperigin and F Murray Abraham, who played video game writer CW Longbottom
A Rolling Stone report claimed that Abraham left the show after two concerns regarding his on-set behaviour.
According to a production source, the actor was allegedly warned to keep away from some of the series’s female stars.
However, a second incident, which was brought to McElhenney, is said to have resulted in his departure.
Abraham issued a “a sincere and deeply felt apology” after the report surfaced.
“Though never my intention to offend anyone, I told jokes – nothing more – that upset some of my colleagues and as a result lost a great job with wonderful people,” the Amadeus actor told ComingSoon.
“I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me.”
At the time of season three’s release, McElhenney told Variety: “It’s a bummer to not have Murray in this season. But we recognize that CW is a beloved character and obviously a huge part of the show. So, we made sure that we have a really fitting tribute to him. We definitely address it in a big way.”
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