(VENN) Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming platform which launched Nov. 1,  2019, is home to several award-winning series, including The Morning Show, Dickinson and Ted Lasso, among others. Mythic Quest is the platform’s celebrated and beloved comedy that follows the team behind the world’s biggest multiplayer video game of all time as they work to maintain and grow the world they’ve created while navigating life in the office.

The show is created by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Ganz. McElhenney and Day are best known for creating and starring in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX’s long-running comedy helmed by Ganz. 

Apple TV+ has announced a bonus episode for hit comedy Mythic Quest. 

The episode, titled “Everlight,” is a standalone story set to debut on the streaming platform April 16. The half-hour special finds the team returning to the office for their annual Everlight party, with Poppy and Ian rigging a Live-Action Role-Play tournament in favor of a mysterious underdog. Sir Anthony Hopkins, award-winning star of Silence of the Lambs, lends his voice to the episode in an unnamed role.

“We at Mythic Quest are placing the bet that no one will ever want to hear the words ‘COVID,’ ‘quarantine,’ or ‘viral load,’ for the rest of their lives. However, we felt that moving too quickly past a return to normalcy would feel inauthentic to the experience that billions of us will be going through over the next few months,” Rob McElhenney, creator and star of Mythic Quest, said in the show announcement. “‘Everlight’ is a special episode that addresses the practical and emotional difficulties of returning to normalcy…It’s full of hope and joy and optimism for a bright future. Ahead of our upcoming second season, we felt it was the perfect way (and the perfect time) to invite the audience back into the world of Mythic Quest.”

The new episode is directed by McElhenney and written by Ashly Burch, who also stars in the series as Rachel.

“Everlight” is the second standalone episode to be produced by the Mythic Quest team, following the special Mythic Quest “Quarantine” episode which aired May 22.

“Rob and the entire Mythic Quest team have created a beloved cast of characters that have struck a chord with audiences around the world,” said Matt Cherniss, Apple TV+ head of programming, said in the announcement. “After hitting it out of the park with their extraordinary ‘Quarantine’ special episode, we couldn’t wait for viewers to experience their unique take on another topical and universally relatable moment – returning to the office – ahead of the season two launch on May 7.” 

As noted in the show release notes, Mythic Quest’s second season finds (almost) everyone back in the office attempting to build upon the success of Raven’s Banquet by launching an epic new expansion. However, Ian (McElhenney) and the newly promoted co-creative director Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) struggle with the game’s direction.

Meanwhile, C.W. (F. Murray Abraham) reconciles some unresolved issues from his past, the testers (Burch and Imani Hakim) test the bounds of an office romance and David (David Hornsby) loses yet another woman in his life as Jo (Jessie Ennis) leaves him to assist Brad (Danny Pudi). The ensemble cast also features Naomi Ekperigin, Caitlin McGee, Humphrey Ker, Chris Naoki Lee and Jonathan Wiggs.