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Set in a video game studio, the sitcom “Mythic Quest” is full of eccentric workaholics. But none are more frantic, frenzied or anxious than Poppy Li, played by Charlotte Nicdao.
A prodigious but petulant engineer, Poppy is given to meltdowns and primal screams, many stemming from a war of wills with her egomaniacal, codependent business partner, Ian Grimm, played by Rob McElhenney.
Over three seasons, Nicdao has viewed her character as everything from a “lovable underdog” to an unprintable descriptor. These days she’s looking favorably upon her geeky, gawky enfant terrible thanks to a paradigm shift in the fourth season, which debuted this week on Apple TV+.
“Mythic Quest” is the first major American series for Nicdao, who grew up and still lives in Australia. Previously a classical pianist, singer and orchestral clarinetist, she started acting in high school productions and began her TV career at 17 on an Australian kids’ show.
Sitcom gigs followed. “One of the biggest roles that I ever had was a series regular on a show called ‘Camp,’ which was an NBC show that filmed in Australia,” she said, noting that the experience was what inspired her to pursue roles in the United States.
Nicdao has also voiced characters on animated sitcoms like “Solar Opposites” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” as well as on the beloved Australian cartoons “Bluey” and “The Strange Chores.”
Over the past couple of years, Nicdao and her character, Poppy Li, have continued to evolve alongside each other, with Nicdao describing the transition as a move from being viewed as a character to being looked at as an artist.
Asked about the paradigm shift in her character, she said: “There’s always this power imbalance between Poppy and Ian like, who’s the queen, who’s the king? This season, Poppy has got more power there’s no question. But it’s not in the ways that you’d expect.”
As she navigated playing a character for whom she developed a deep bond, Nicdao said she noticed that Poppy was never designed to be particularly feminine. Despite this, over the course of the show she has seen herself and her alter ego grow further apart.
But in the third season, particularly, Nicdao said she recognized that Poppy was never viewed as a symbol of femininity. Instead, she was primarily seen as the “woman in tech” her struggles and misadventures were seen in the context of her work within the gaming studio.
Now Poppy is wearing blouses – a big departure from her norm – and contemplating her own gender identity.
Nicdao got the opportunity to direct an episode of the fourth season, giving her a first-hand look at the process she had previously heard about but was not familiar with.
She and her father just released a short film, she wrote and directed, starring him.
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