Side Quest is a spin-off of Mythic Quest, the underrated workplace comedy streaming on Apple TV Plus. At just four episodes in length, each around 30 minutes, it often feels like bonus material found on a collector’s edition DVD, back when we still had those.

This is not a criticism, but rather a statement of how familiar and perfectly in-tune with its source material this series is. At its best, Side Quest expands and enriches the original series in ways I couldn’t have conceived.

It’s greatest fault is its length. At four episodes, it’s hard to figure out just who this is for. The series devotees will eat it up in an instant. Others will wonder what the big hubbub is for. Just as you’re settling in for more, it’s all over.

Which is a shame, because this is an anthology of the highest quality. Even the least interesting episode is funny and poignant. The best ones (Fugue and The Last Raid) are so sharply observed and honest they made me cry.

In Fugue, a cellist dreams of joining the orchestra responsible for the music of Mythic Quest. Yet, when she does, it proves harder and harder to hold onto the spark that once drove her forward.

The Last Raid is the final meeting of friends who’ve played Mythic Quest as a party for years. But, as with all things, life gets in the way. As someone with the same Dungeons and Dragons crew for the past almost 20 years, this one really hit home.

Each of these vignettes is well acted and directed. They do exactly what a good short should do: they give us a hint of the bigger picture, and we buy into a world where a game like Mythic Quest means as much to people as World of Warcraft for us. The humane writing refuses reductive takes, and instead presents the fans, even at their most toxic, as fully rounded humans with dreams and aspirations of their own. It’s the kind of filmmaking that games have rarely, if ever, had for themselves. Instead of presenting the hobby as a weird sideshow or painful distraction, Side Quest gives it the spotlight as exactly what it is: a part of everyday life.

This is a delightful and heartwarming series that I hope will continue alongside Mythic Quest for years to come. As a test for something different, the four episodes do their job. They work as a taster for what’s to come, and leave us desperately wanting for more.