Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet crew members express outrage over Rob McElhenney's response to coronavirus outbreak

Variety

McElhenney, the co-creator and star of the Apple TV+ series, has seen his show experience two outbreaks in the past two months while filming Season 2. Mythic Quest was recently shut down for 11 days. McElhenney responded with a Dec. 5 note to staff saying: “For as alarming as this sounds, we have been expecting this for weeks. The numbers in the county are spiking and consequently our numbers are doing the same. But to date there remains ZERO evidence of any transmission at work. Our set continues to be one of the safest places you can be outside of your homes.” One crew member tells Varity McElhenney's claim that there were zero transmissions was "utter horseh*t." The crew member says he was in close contact with other crew members who tested positive at the same time on CBS' Radford Studio lot. Another crew member says Mythic Quest followed coronavirus guidelines early on, but started to slip up as it rushed to complete filming. "This is our m.o. — get it done. That’s what we do,” the second crew member, who also tested positive, tells Variety. “But we can’t go on standard operating procedure because people are getting sick.” The second crew member blamed too many people working in close proximity to each other and not social distancing for the two outbreaks. About 12 people tied to Mythic Quest have tested positive. In a statement to Variety, McElhenney said his assurances to the crew had been supported by science. “Our medical staff has made every effort to ensure the health and safety of our crew,” he said. “We have all been working tirelessly to expedite the sharing of clear and accurate information in a timely manner. No decision was made nor information communicated without the science to support it.