Byte Club: Behind the Scenes of USA’s Mr. Robot

“Hello, friend.”
With those two words, an unsuspecting television audience was introduced to Mr. Robot’s hacker protagonist Elliot Alderson, and a new cultural obsession was born. Featuring heightened inner monologues reminiscent of Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle and a visual style ripe with off-kilter angles and negative space that feels straight up David Fincher in its construction (Fight Club is a frequent reference point), the show was unlike anything many viewers had seen on TV before. Set primarily in and around New York City, the inaugural year of USA’s Mr. Robot tracked the misanthropic Elliot as he found himself drawn into the world of Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), the enigmatic ringleader of fsociety, a cyberterrorist organization. The season focused not only on Elliot and fsociety’s burgeoning plans to bring down a corrupt, nefarious conglomerate called “Evil Corp,” but also on the gradual degradation of Elliot’s psyche as he realizes Mr. Robot may be closer to him than he ever thought possible.
Much of the show’s unique feel can be traced back to its initial conception by creator/showrunner Sam Esmail, who modeled the main character partially on a younger version of himself (he dabbled in hacking). He also took inspiration from his family’s experience—Esmail is Egyptian-American—with the Arab Spring anti-government protests that spread like wildfire across the Middle East in 2011.
Given Esmail’s own tech background, it’s no surprise that the series prioritizes a more true-to-life depiction of hacking and its culture than most other programs of its ilk, especially given that the chaotic rigors of television production schedule often makes total accuracy a hindrance rather than a benefit. For the show’s technical consultant/writer (and former hacker) Kor Adana, however, this adherence to realism has helped the series distinguish itself.
“[Sam] wanted to do this the right way and a way we hadn’t seen before, so it was very empowering for me,” he says.
Certainly, in hearing Adana discuss his personal experiences with the hacking community and how the show captures the specifics via Elliot it becomes clear why the character has quickly joined the growing pantheon of television’s “difficult men” antiheroes.
“What you see it in hacktivism and in Mr. Robot is this young, anger-driven defiance,” he explains. “This notion of ‘I know more than you, and I’m not going to be told what to do and I’m not going to be controlled by you.’ It’s the archetype of the young and angry person who feels there’s an injustice in the world and who feels a need to right that wrong.”
Mr. Robot returned last night for its much-anticipated second season. Though initially renewed for a second year ahead of its first season premiere as a show of good faith on USA’s part, the series’ critical acclaim and audience response has afforded the creative team significantly more resources in their second go-around, according to Chad Hamilton, an executive producer on the show and Esmail’s manager at Anonymous Content.
“It’s nothing irresponsible—we’re still making it for a price—but we certainly have more breathing room than we did last year,” he says.
Perhaps the most notable fact going into the second season, however, is what’s going on behind-the-scenes. Whereas Esmail directed three episodes over the course of the first year (including the dizzying finale) the network announced that, in addition to his regular showrunning duties, he would be directing all 12 episodes of Season Two.
“I think it totally makes sense because [Sam] knows himself really well,” Adana explains. “[With Season One] he was on set, I think, every day talking with the directors about what kind of shots he wanted and talking to the actors and giving directions. He was very hands-on in post-[production]. He was very involved in every aspect of the show, so it wasn’t surprising to me that he felt it would be more efficient to direct all the episodes. From a sheer bandwidth perspective, I questioned how he would be able to do this, but he has a great support system on hand. [Mr. Robot writer/producer] Kyle Bradstreet is able to help prep the episode and Sam is able to focus on directing and dealing with post. We’re getting through it. I don’t know how long he can sustain working at this level, but we’re almost at the end of Season Two.”