Post Breaking Bad, there haven’t been a lot of television dramas out there that have kept me captivated throughout a season. Some have deviated too far from source materials (looking at you, Game of Thrones), some have had writer rehauls (thanks for nothing, True Detective S2) and plenty are just, well bad.
If you’re looking for a new show to start, give Mr. Robot a try. The American drama-thriller’s first season was released mid last year and tells the story of “Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker who suffers from social anxiety disorder and clinical depression.” Alderson joins a group of hactivists, inspired no doubt by Anonymous, to take down a large corporation.
Revolving around hacker culture, a serious disdain for blatant consumerism, and Elliot’s mental disorder, Mr. Robot is probably best described as Fight Club for I.T professionals. Sam Esmail, creator of the show, took the pains necessary to create a show that depicted hacking culture as realistic as possible. There’s no double-hacking-on-a-keyboard nonsense.
Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson
As with any television series worth its weight now, Mr. Robot’s campaigns have been on point. Want to feel like you’re in on a big secret that no one knows about? Mr. Robot’s fan communities analyse the living hell out of every episode and have been rewarded for their efforts, with the show’s creator dropping subtle hints across multiple platforms several times.
The true joy of Mr. Robot comes from the gritty storyline and its very realistic inspirations from the real world. Mega-corporations who control several industries (I still love you, Google) and the anger against the 1% – what’s not to love about the blurred line between fact and fiction?
Enough talking. If you liked True Detective (the first season obviously), Black Mirror, and similar dramas, it’s time to read every starting letter of each paragraph in this story (it’s not available on Netflix thanks to USA Network’s agreement with Hulu) and start watching Mr. Robot.
The second season of Mr. Robot drops in July. Here’s the trailer.