Side Quest, the new Apple TV+ anthology series, expands theMythic Questuniverse by spotlighting the diverse lives of fans, players, and creators impacted by the game. Each episode tells a standalone story, offering fresh perspectives on the culture surroundingMythic Quest.
The second episode of the series, “Pull List,” unfolds in a Black-owned comic book shop where tensions rise as superfans vie for the only available copy of a covetedMQcomic. In the episode,Shalita Grant(NCIS: New Orleans) stars as Janae, the shop’s owner;Bria Henderson(The Good Doctor) portrays Cherry, a fiercely protective regular; andWilliam Stanford Davis(Abbott Elementary) plays Earl, a nostalgic fan navigating the evolving nerd landscape.
In an interview with Collider’sJoe Schmidt, the cast of “Pull List” took a deep dive into the episode’s exploration of gatekeeping and community within fandom, with Grant specifically highlighting the nuanced portrayal of how Black individuals express their passions, while Henderson discussed Cherry’s defensive stance as a response to past marginalization. Davis shared his experience of immersing himself in geek culture for the role in learningMagic: The Gatheringand how nerd culture shaped his own childhood.
“Pull List” Explores Geek Gatekeeping
“I would say the artistry for me in the episode is really how Black people love things.”
COLLIDER: I used to work in a comic book shop, so this episode really spoke to me as a person who has been around geek gatekeepers. Shalita, your character is so awesome as a comic book shop owner who’s trying to be inclusive. And Bria, your character, I’ve met you before, and I need you out of my shop, you know?
BRIA HENDERSON: [Laughs]
But I also think the really cool aspect of the show is how it does something that you wouldn’t think you would expect in how it incorporates Blackness as a way of gatekeeping as well. I thought that that was just super intriguing in how this whole episode connects everything together. Shalita, will you please start kicking this off and talk about how this episode spoke to you as an artist and the different types of gatekeeping that we all experience in certain ways?
SHALITA GRANT: I would say the artistry for me in the episode is really how Black people love things. The specificity of how we love things, how we race things, how we categorize things. I think that that was the most exciting aspect for me of being a part of this episode,because it’s a world that we don’t really get to see a lot of. I think in the real comic fandom world, it’s pretty white, and whenever Black people try to bring our communities, there’s always that friction that stops right at white and black. But when you get to go past that and see, “Wow, these people really have a whole catalog of information and feelings that they collectively have agreed on without even having the conversation.” So that gatekeeping of, “Did you feel this when you watch this? If you agree, then you can be a part of the group, but if you thought that Arthur was white, then you don’t belong in here.”
That’s a good segue because Bria, your character is… like I said, I’ve seen that type of character in shops before. And so I wondered how you got into that space of just embodying this fierce person who is so protective of her love of these things that she grew up with? I don’t think it comes from a place of hatred, obviously, but just, “This is me and you are encroaching on my space.”
HENDERSON: Yes. I feel like Cherry is someone that has been bullied for being different, and that finding this comic book shop that Janae built just provided a community not only just for Cherry,but for all the other characters to come and feel accepted and seen. And so, I think when you feel like you don’t have your own space in the world, and you finally find it, you do become protective of the thing that allows you to be free and allows you to be fully yourself. And so I think her getting comfortable in that space, she also feels like she could run it herself or own it herself or whatever. And I think protection, like you said, doesn’t come from hatred. It really just comes because this is something that’s really precious to her. Very, very precious.
I love the whole full circle moment at the end of just realizing a hot guy can be a geek too. That was so perfect.
HENDERSON: I mean, he did have to prove himself. Absolutely. I think Cherry had a list of things he had to check off before he could, you know.
And I think in any aspect as a geek, it doesn’t matter what you’re a geek for. It could be music or movies or anything, but there is a level of checking where you have to basically go, “Are you on my level? Are you as into it as I am?”
HENDERSON: I also believe that the character Ron played when he walks in, I think Cherry has a flashback. And I feel like he looks like a lot of the people that bullied Cherry. So it’s like this triggering moment for her. Like, “You can’t possibly be in this world because you have bullied me before, because I’m in this world.” So I think it also comes through in that way too.
That’s a cool direction as an actor to kind of bring that into your performance of it.
On Building Character Through Personal Experience
“A lot of people think that Black people are monolithic, and we’re not.”
I have to ask, Stan, because I got to know, do you play Magic [The Gathering]? Have you played Magic before?
WILLIAM STANFORD DAVIS: I learned a couple of days before we started shooting, and if I had to play it now and my life depended on it, I’d be gone.
GRANT: You had a good one, though, Stan! You had a good one.
I feel like that’s the hardest game. I tried to play it when I was a kid, and tapping and the mana…all of that.
DAVIS: I played just enough to make it work for the games in the scenes. But if I had to play it now, man, I’d be like, “Oh my god, what’s this for? What’s that for? What? Tapping. Why am I tapping?”
You asked a question earlier, and I just want to say this:a lot of people think that Black people are monolithic, and we’re not. We expand to every aspect of the universe, including nerdism or geekism or whatever. I knew a lot of guys I was just thinking about. I knew a lot of guys like the people in the comic book store growing up. We all had some geekiness about something, you know, like Brie was saying, band geeks or whatever. I read comic books a lot when I was a kid, so I think that this universe, specifically this comic book store, was right there. I know it might have been the record store when I was growing up, but, yeah, we had those types of establishments.
What were your favorite comics growing up?
DAVIS: I read every DC comic. I knew Green Lantern, I knew Aquaman, The Flash, Superman, who is the greatest superhero of all time. Shalita!
GRANT: Yes, sir! Yes!
DAVIS: And all the Marvels. I grew up with The Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man. I just loved them. And then I grew out of that, too. But I kept a stack of books.
I feel like you go in and out when you realize, “Oh, you know what? These aren’t just for kids, and you’re able to identify with some of that stuff.” I was a big X-Men fan growing up.
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I have to sneak this one in while I have you, Stan. What can we expect from your appearance onIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaand theAbbott Elementarycrossover?
DAVIS: Wow!
I have to, sorry.
DAVIS: You’ve already seen theAbbottportion of it, and I can’t really tell you too much about theAlways Sunnyportion, but you got saints and sinners everywhere, you know? AndAbbottis the saint part of it, because I can’t tell you what these guys are doing. But it’s pretty crazy, and I’d get in trouble. I was told specifically, “Do not talk about theIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiapart of the crossover," so… [zips mouth]
I mean, Rob is the producer on this show, so obviously you don’t want to piss that guy off.
DAVIS: I don’t want to piss him off. That was so cool, man. Working with them, especially the time I spent with Danny DeVito, was just really outstanding. Such a giant man. Just a giant professional. I just had a ball.
What’s Next For The “Pull List” Crew
“I think there’s space for it.”
Is this something that you feel like there’s life to these characters? We’ll start with you, Shalita, on how we can maybe see them again down the line.
GRANT: You know, Joe, your lips to god’s Apple TV+ ears. Your lips to god’s seven-day free trial ears. We’ll let the people decide, sir.
DAVIS: I think there’s a space for it. And I think it would be very funny, especially with these two ladies. I think it would be a great show for them to pick up.
GRANT: Yeah. For $9.99 a month, maybe.
DAVIS: There are so many other avenues to explore away from the store – their personal lives, all this stuff. Maybe they sneak over to another store or something? I don’t know, let’s see what the competition is doing. I think there’s room for it.
Brie, is there anything weird and geeky that you might want to touch on if you get the chance to revisit these characters? Anything you didn’t get in this one that you want to see?
HENDERSON: Weird and geeky that Cherry could possibly explore, I don’t know, maybe a love life. Let’s see what Cherry really is like in a relationship.
GRANT: Yeah!
HENDERSON: I don’t know. That would be something weird and geeky to her, in her world. Love.
