The pilot premiered via online and video on demand services on May 27, 2015. In addition to Malek and Slater, the series stars an ensemble cast featuring Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, Martin Wallström, Michael Cristofer, Stephanie Corneliussen, Grace Gummer, BD Wong, Bobby Cannavale, Elliot Villar and Ashlie Atkinson. The first season debuted on USA Network on June 24, 2015, while the second season premiered on July 13, 2016, and the third season premiered on October 11, 2017. The fourth and final season premiered on October 6, 2019, and concluded on December 22, 2019.
Mr. Robot received critical acclaim particularly for the performances of Malek and Slater, its story and visual presentation and Mac Quayle's musical score. The series has gained a cult following.[9] Esmail has received praise for his direction of the series, having directed three episodes in the first season before serving as the sole director for the remainder of the show. The show received numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award.
Esmail had originally intended Mr. Robot to be a feature film, with the end of the first act being someone finding out that he had a mental disorder while enacting a greater scheme.[48] However, midway through writing the first act, he found that the script had expanded considerably, and that it had become better-suited for a television show.[49] He removed 20 of around 89 pages of the script then written, and used it as the pilot for the series,[50] and what was to have been the end of the first act became the finale of the first season.[48] Esmail took the script to film and television production company Anonymous Content to see if it could be developed into a television series, which was then picked up by USA Network. USA gave a pilot order to Mr. Robot in July 2014.[51] After an exhaustive search to cast the lead role, it was announced in September 2014 that Rami Malek had been cast as Elliot;[52] the remainder of the roles in the pilot were cast later in September and October.[53][54]
USA picked it up to series with a 10-episode order in December 2014.[55] Production began in New York on April 13, 2015.[56] The pilot premiered on multiple online and video on demand services on May 27, 2015,[57] and the series was renewed for a second season before the first season premiered on USA on June 24, 2015.[58] In December 2015, it was announced that Esmail would direct all episodes in the second season.[59] In June 2016, it was announced that the second season's episode order was increased from 10 to 12 episodes.[60] The 12-episode second season premiered on July 13, 2016.[60] On August 16, 2016, USA renewed Mr. Robot for a third season to air in 2017.[61][62] The third season debuted in October 2017 and consisted of 10 episodes. All episodes were directed by Esmail, just as in the second season.[31][63] On December 13, 2017, USA renewed Mr. Robot for a fourth season.[64] In August 2018, it was confirmed that the fourth season would be the final season.[65]
Originally, the show planned to dress Elliot in a worn sweatshirt and colorful backpack; however, Malek suggested a black backpack and wore his own B:Scott black hoodie to set.[66] The outfit became the signature look for the character, and the costume designer ordered 20 more of them, despite the item having been discontinued years earlier.[66] To portray the unusual, often confused worldview of lead character Elliot Alderson, Franklin Peterson, who edited three Mr. Robot episodes in the first season and six in the second season, used creative editing styles that included jump cuts, varied lengths of takes and shuffling scenes around within an episode and sometimes even between episodes. Esmail encouraged the experimentation as Peterson and his team explored the personality of each character in the editing suite, finding creative ways to tell their stories and maintain their humanity.[67]
FuseFX was hired to provide the visual effects for episode "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00" of season 3, in which they took 40 shots and stitched them together to appear as one seamless shot for the entire episode.[70][71]
Mr. Robot has been widely praised for its technical accuracy by numerous cybersecurity firms and services such as Avast,[72] Panda Security,[73] Avira,[74] Kaspersky,[75] Proton Mail,[76] and bloggers[77][78][79][80] who analyzed and dissected the technical aspects of the show after episodes containing hacking scenes. Aside from the pilot episode, Esmail hired Kor Adana (former network security analyst and forensics manager for Toyota Motor Sales), Michael Bazzell (security consultant and former FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force agent and investigator) and James Plouffe (lead solutions architect at MobileIron) as his advisors to oversee the technical accuracy of the show. By the second season, Adana assembled a team of hackers and cybersecurity experts including Jeff Moss (founder and director of Black Hat and DEF CON computer security conferences),[81] Marc Rogers (principal security researcher for Cloudflare and head of security for DEF CON),[82] Ryan Kazanciyan (chief security architect for Tanium) and Andre McGregor (director of security for Tanium and former FBI Cyber Special agent) to assist him with the authenticity of the hacks and the technology being used.[83] Hacking scenes were performed by members of the technical team in real life, recorded and rebuilt using Flash animation. Animation process is carried out by animator Adam Brustein under the direct supervision of Adana himself.[84][85] Kali Linux and its tools were used in multiple episodes.[86][87][88]
The series was filmed in New York. Filming locations include Silvercup Studios, Queens College and Coney Island, which serves as the exterior of the base of operations for the hacking group fsociety.[104] As the production crew was unable to shut down Times Square for filming, the scenes at Times Square in the first-season finale were shot late at night just before the July 4 holiday weekend to catch the area at its emptiest while other shots were done on sets.[105] Production on the second season began on March 7, 2016, resuming filming in New York City.[40]
In June 2016, USA Network announced Hacking Robot, a live aftershow hosted by Andy Greenwald to air during the second season.[106] Hacking Robot debuted after the second-season premiere and aired again following the tenth episode. In addition, a weekly web-only aftershow titled Mr. Robot Digital After Show premiered on The Verge and USA Network's websites after the third episode, and continued through the third season.[107]
The first season of Mr. Robot received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 98%, based on 146 reviews, with an average rating of 8.35/10. The site's consensus reads, "Mr. Robot is a suspenseful cyber-thriller with timely stories and an intriguing, provocative premise."[108] It set a record on Rotten Tomatoes as the only show to earn perfect episode scores for an entire season since the site began tracking television episodes.[109] On Metacritic, the first season scored 79 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[110]
The second season also received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 90%, based on 241 reviews, with an average rating of 7.85/10. The site's consensus reads: "Unique storytelling, a darker tone, and challenging opportunities for its tight cast push Mr. Robot even further into uncharted television territory."[115] On Metacritic, it has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[116]
The third season also received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 92%, based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 8.25/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mr. Robot's striking visuals and bold narrative fuel its seductive blend of reality and fantasy."[119] On Metacritic, it has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[120]
Based on six episodes for review, Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A" grade, calling it a "noir masterpiece", and overall, wrote that "Season 3 of Mr. Robot is a masterpiece, ballasting the global ambitions of season 2 while sharpening back to the meticulous build of season 1."[121]
As with previous seasons, the fourth and final season was met with acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 96% with an average rating of 8.95/10, based on 115 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mr. Robot returns with a thrilling final season that is sure to surprise and satisfy its audience."[122] On Metacritic, it has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[123]
Mr. Robot has spawned a variety of video games. Its mobile game, titled: Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n.apk (for Android) and Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n.ipa (for iOS) are set during the first season of the series and was published by Telltale Games. Users play as a fictional character who has stumbled upon the phone of an important member of fsociety and takes it upon themselves to assist them in bringing down E Corp.[172] The Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience, written and directed by Sam Esmail, is a 13-minute video viewable using virtual reality headsets that explores Elliot's past.[173] Mr. Robot also features several Easter eggs, including websites related to the show or IP addresses used within the series that redirect to real websites.[174]
Mr. Robot premiered in the United States on USA Network on June 24, 2015, and in Canada on Showcase on September 4, 2015.[176] Amazon.com secured international broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom, with the first season added on Amazon Prime on October 16, 2015, and second-season episodes to be released immediately after initial broadcast in the United States.[177][178] In Australia, the series premiered on Presto on August 14, 2015.[179] After Presto shut down, the series moved to Fox Showcase for its third season and to Foxtel On Demand for the fourth season.[180][181] The show aired in the Republic of Ireland on TG4.[182]
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