It only took four years and a standalone episode, but Elisha Henig and Alanna Ubach managed to pull Mythic Quest co-creator Charlie Day into a role on the show. The best part? The duo only kind of twisted his arm.
In conjunction with Episode 8 (“Rebrand”), Henig — who also serves as the writer of the episode — and Ubach sat down with Decider to talk about getting to revisit their characters from the show’s pilot, more than five years after the Apple TV+ series premiered. Bringing back their characters of Pootie Shoe and Shannon, the stepson and ex-wife of Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney), was one thing, but getting to bring Day into the fold was something else.
“That was incredible. I mean, he’s a childhood comedic hero of mine,” Henig told Decider of getting to write for the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses actor. “To be able to write for him and to be able to act alongside him was just really a dream come true. And also a little bit of a nightmare in terms of trying to keep up with him because he’s just so funny.”
“For him to finally say yes to an episode, to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll do this.’ It’s like we took a giant filet mignon that we put at the end of his driveway, he walked out of his house, and went to the filet mignon and he trusted us and then we grabbed him with the rest of the dog catchers,” joked Ubach. “Just threw him in a van and took him straight to set.”
In the episode, which focuses on Henig’s Twitchcaster-type deciding to rebrand himself in order to find a more mature audience, Day plays a member of Pootie Shoe’s PR team who does not take kindly to the idea of him changing things up. It ultimately leads to a tender conversation involving the two characters discussing what’s really important in life. Leave it to Mythic Quest to pitch an incredibly silly concept — Pootie Shoe actually challenges a streaming rival to an MMA fight despite being half (if that) the size of the other fighter — only to leave the audience with tears in their eyes.
For Henig, it was also cathartic, considering that much of the script came from his own experience as a child actor, something not entirely dissimilar to the world of YouTubers and streamers. He told Decider that getting the opportunity to write it out and have the world see it is something he does not take for granted. Even if he jokingly says he had to find co-creator Megan Ganz‘s email on the darkweb to get it made.
For more details on how the episode came together, what sets this role apart for Ubach, and why this felt like the perfect time to add this episode to the show, check out our full interview with Henig and Ubach below.
DECIDER: I want to start with you, Elisha. You wrote this episode and you star in it? How did this come along? What was the pitch process for this?
ELISHA HENIG: I was really bored and just didn’t have a life one summer and I thought I should write a spec script for this show. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and then I thought, “You know, how can I get it to them so that they could actually read it?” And I found Megan Ganz’s email on the Wikileaks, you know, the Sony, what was it, North Korea hackers or whatever?
ALANNA UBACH: He went the punk rock route to find her. It would have easily just been a phone call to your reps, brother [laugh].
How long ago was this?
Henig: This would have been November 2023 when I sent her the episode. And then she responded in January of 2024. Yeah. And then I guess we started. When did we shoot this? We shot this in May, right? 2024?
Wow, and it just so happened to work so organically into the theme of reinvention for Season 4? Was that the plan or was it serendipitous?
Henig: I did a little watching of where it was in Season 3. And then, you know, what I centered didn’t end up being the final version of what we shot. There were revisions along the way, et cetera. I guess if it hadn’t worked out, if it wasn’t the right time for Pootie Shoe to come back, then I’d probably just wouldn’t have worked out. It’s self-fulfilling.
And Alanna, how did this come to you? Was it like, “We’ve maybe got an idea” or had it been fully confirmed and was in the chamber?
Ubach: Oh, it had been confirmed. It was like, “yep, we’re taking you out of your box, out of your stable, and you’re going to be running this race for the next two weeks.” And look, I live in Los Angeles. it films in Los Angeles. I was just like, “Give me the address and the time. Where do I have to be?” I met Elisha when he was just a puppy. He and I were in that first episode together. He was shorter than me, if you can believe that. I changed his diaper at one point because his father had left the set, I had to change his diaper. So now cut, two years go by and he towers over me and he’s taken crap’s larger than me, I’m assuming. I was just so excited to be a part of something that he wrote himself with me in mind. It was a love letter to our characters on the show, and he just killed it. He really did.
Yeah, and it feels a bit bookend-y, if that’s a word. Given that your characters were first scene in the pilot and now at what could be the end, what was it like to bring them back in a new light?
Ubach: Obviously, he had the missing puzzle piece, and I just sort of looked at the puzzle piece and I was like, “Okay, that’s what we’re doing? Very good, I’ll see you soon.” Great, I know what my prep is going to be. It’s the relationship with him. And I have a son, he’s seven, and he’s just changing every single day. And my husband and I are obsessed with him. And so it was not difficult to play this role.
Henig: I think it was nice to get the adult side of Pootie Shoe that more was more related to how I felt at the time. You know, I think there’s a certain parallel between the world of like a gaming streamer and a child actor. And I think that felt nice to kind of bring that story to its natural conclusion. Maybe not?
Was it your experience as a child actor that really made this easy to write?
Henig: I think that it’s sort of the trials and tribulations of a child actor having to grow up and start all over again as an adult, right?
I do feel like it’s the growing pains of anyone, though, because everyone’s going to watch this and walk away thinking, “Oh my God, that was me at 16, 17, 18, whatever.” Is there something that you hope people walk away from this episode feeling or thinking?
Ubach: Don’t marry your mom. Run for the hills. The moment your mom starts to espouse, you just nip it in the bud. Go to a therapist, do it the right way, and cut that and biblical cord because you’re going to have to sooner or later. I did it very early with my parents. I was all business as a kid. I was like, “Mom, dad, we have to get a divorce. I’m up against these 18-year-olds that are working, being worked for 14 hours and that’s why they’re getting hired.” So, you know, I’m 14, 15, and I got an emancipation from my parents. I didn’t exactly divorce them. I loved my parents. I lived with them, but it was sort of a business decision.
Henig: I too got emancipated when I was 16. I also, when I was 11, I passed the California High School proficiency exam, which is a crazy thing. I feel like most people don’t know about this, but there’s this high school proficiency exam that if you pass in California, you can work as an adult in California, 14-hour days or even more, I mean, theoretically. But yeah, I agree with Alanna’s message. I think that’s a good message.
We have to talk about the Charlie Day of it all. Getting to work with him again and getting to say that you were the ones to finally pull the Mythic Quest co-creator into the world of Mythic Quest. What is that like for you both?
Henig: That was incredible. I mean, he’s a childhood comedic hero of mine. And so to be able to write for him and to be able to act alongside him was just really a dream come true. And also a little bit of a nightmare in terms of trying to keep up with him because he’s just so funny.
Ubach: He’s so quick, it’s nuts.
Henig: It makes you seem really awful.
Ubach: For him to finally say yes to an episode, to say, “Yeah, I’ll do this.” It’s like we took a giant filet mignon that we put at the end of his driveway, he walked out of his house, and went to the filet mignon. He trusted us and then we grabbed him with the rest of the dog catchers. Just threw him in a van and took him straight to set.
Henig: No, he was fine, he was happy about it.
Ubach: He’s such a sweetheart. I adore Charlie and his wife.
And what does it mean for you, as someone who is so young but so established in your career, to have the trust of Megan, Rob, Charlie, and the entire team?
Ubach: Elijah is — how old are you, kid? 18? 19?
Henig: I’m 20.
Ubach: He’s 20 going on 92. He got an old soul. He likes Jell-O. All soft food. He’s got dentures that he takes out at night.
Henig: My memory’s not too great.
Ubach: He’s seen a lot.
Yeah, he’s had all the trials and tribulations. Alanna, you recently have played many a mother character between this, Euphoria, and Ted. They’re vastly different from show to show but do you have a common thread you use to channel the three performances?
Ubach: Playing them all the same would probably be the easiest route. But leave it to me to always have to have a frickin challenge. So yes, approaching them is completely and totally different from one to the next, and especially because of the different genres that these mothers are in. One is a comedy. One is a drama. One is really disturbing. So you have to take that for what it is. But these kids, Rob, Charlie, they know me from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as the crack whore. The moment I’m called to do anything for them, it’s usually like, “All of those other actresses, they said no to it. Alanna will do it. Let’s call her. Leave it to Alanna, trust me, she’ll bring the crazy and the silly to this.” And that’s it.
Henig: Alanna is really one of the most incredible actors I’ve ever worked with, honestly. Working with her behind the scenes is such a joy. But also, she just has such a quick wit and is so funny. I’ve always really, really admired her.
If you haven’t watched Ted, she truly is amazing in that. I say “karaoke machine” the way her character in the show says it at least once a week. She really makes the most mundane lines feel Emmy-worthy.
Henig: I know, you give her the stupidest line — and Lord knows I did — and she really makes it funny. She can really make something out of it.
Ubach: It’s discovering all of these different women. It’s like, “Oh, she’s my mom. Oh, I know this one, dhe’s my sister, that’s my cousin Gladys, that’s my Aunt Diane.” It’s so easy. But my mom used to try to pronounce everything the way — with the origins of where it’s from. “Oh, well, this is a Japanese, it must be pronounced kar-a-oh-kee in Japan.” So, you know, everything had a certain accent to it if it called for that. It was truly embarrassing when I was a kid.
The first eight episodes of Mythic Quest Season 4 are currently streaming on AppleTV+.
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