"Mythic Quest: Quarantine" cast and crew raise $600K in COVID-19 relief

The "Mythic Quest" team used its quarantine episode to make an impact in many ways.

What you need to know

• The cast and crew of "Mythic Quest" raised $600,000 for charity.
• The money was raised as part of the show's special "Mythic Quest: Quarantine" episode.
• The money was donated to Mercy Corps to help fight against COVID-19.

The quarantine episode of "Mythic Quest" premiered this week showcasing the talent of the cast and crew of the show in pulling off an episode shot completely in isolation. Reported by Variety, the cast and crew used the episode to raise $600,000 to donate to Mercy Corps to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Rob McElhenney sat down for an interview with Variety and talked about the episode, saying that the cast and crew wanted to be responsible in how the special was made.

"The thing about the 'Mythic Quest' characters is that, like the filmmakers, they believe in science and they respect the law. And so we could make an episode that we felt was socially responsible."

Specifically, the creators wanted to focus on the importance of mental health and supporting those who may be struggling during self quarantine.

"Physical health is paramount importance, but that should not supersede mental health," McElhenney says. "If you have someone in your life who you truly believe is struggling to the point where if they don't receive some level of physical contact things could take a very dark turn for the worse — and I think a lot of people have those experiences — then we have to be rational and we have to be compassionate and we have to be understanding."

The team also wanted to take the episode to give back, so they raised over $300,000 that was donated to Mercy Corps who is working to help fight against the coronavirus pandemic in some of the most vulnerable communities around the world. McElhenney and his wife matched the fundraiser, bringing the total donated to the organization to $600,000.

McElhenney says that he has been blown away by how generous the show's community has been about donating to the cause, especially in a time when financial security is a concern for everyone.

""As we came up with the conceit of the company donating money, then I thought, 'Wow this would be really cool if we could figure out a way in which we as a show were doing the same,'" McElhenney says. "The organization is a global one that is doing some of the best work out there for those affected by this pandemic. What we were what we're hoping is that we can raise awareness for this incredible organization. But we also want to be very respectful of our audience who has been asked to give and give and give and give. And they have responded, and I know because I've run a couple of fundraisers over the course of the last three or four months and people continue to give and I know that people can't afford to give. Of course I want people, if they can, to continue to give, but I also feel like I don't want to ask anyone for anything else anymore. The audience has had it rough and they're going to have a rough couple of maybe years. So this is just something we're putting out in the world and if you can give, great, but we just hope you enjoy the show."

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