Latest news with #SamEsmail
Metro
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
One of the 'greatest sci-fi series of all time' premiered 10 years ago today
As cyber warfare and the looming threat of artificial intelligence continue to cloud our daily lives, Sam Esmail's sci-fi series is as relevant as ever on its 10-year anniversary. Mr Robot charts the journey of paranoid hacker Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) who is recruited by an anarchist known as 'Mr Robot' (Christian Slater) to a group of hacktivists called 'FSociety'. Battling a multinational conglomerate, the group aims to destroy all debt records by encrypting E Corp's financial data. Slater has said himself that the 'show was ahead of its time' in an interview with Gold Derby last week. But despite the show first being released 10 years ago today, its warnings about the influence of big tech corporations in our lives and Big Brother politics make it a critical watch. Many fans praised the series on X for boasting one of the most thrilling storylines they have ever seen. @Shin_078 commented online that it is 'one of the greatest shows ever', while @TheGwilliam added: 'Four near perfect seasons. A true must watch.' @RacingBedgood wrote that Mr Robot is 'such a good series', and @badfkninfluence similarly claimed that Esmail's show is 'one of the best TV series ever.' @Billy_Kunta echoed this by defiantly writing: 'Peak TV right here!' Previously, fans have pointed out how seasons 3 and 4 tailed off compared to the beginning two. Our TV reporter Milo Pope shares his thoughts on the potential problems behind Mr Robot still being so unique… It's quite astounding to think that 10 years after Mr Robot aired, there truly has not been anything like it on our screens. As the phrase goes – 'good artists copy, great artists steal' – television has long had this wonderful ability where it can inspire similar projects and in turn, a collection of shows can spur on a movement and create real change. Think of It's A Sin and the conversations it has sparked around HIV and the LGBTQ+ community. I'd argue it certainly had an influence on shows such as What It Feels Like For A Girl, which came out earlier this month. But following the season finale of Mr Robot in December 2019, issues of cyber warfare, ransomware and hacking have largely been ignored across the TV landscape. Of course, Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror delves into the darker side of technology and its potential misuses. Silicon Valley also opts for a comedic take on the tech industry. But with the recent heightening tensions in the Middle East and the retail cyber attacks on stores such as M&S and Harrods, the world today seems to be crying out for a show like Mr Robot that shines a light on the dangers of hackers who can effectively cripple economic systems and bring the world to a standstill. @ks_moody added that Mr Robot has one of the best starts 'and then it did a slooooooow steady decline into nothing'. But the show has also received high praise for featuring a main character who has social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissociative identity disorder. As @mrsxkati writes, that 'Mr Robot has hands down the best representation of mental illness', fans are still reminiscing about this unique take on a vigilante hacker. More Trending Earlier this year, rumours about Mr Robot returning for a fifth and final season started to circulate online. Although there might not be any shows like Mr Robot that delve into the dangers of hacking and big tech companies, there are certainly some that mirror its grittiness as a suspenseful crime thriller. If you're looking to see the dark underbelly of a criminal world or an activist group take down a larger power, add these to your watchlist: Barry – Sky Comedy Slow Horses – Apple TV Plus Dark Matter – Apple TV Plus Black Mirror – Netflix Severance – Apple TV Plus Westworld – Sky Atlantic The Leftovers – Sky Atlantic Twin Peaks – Paramount Plus However, this was confirmed to be false by the show's creator, who intentionally decided to end the series after four seasons to prioritise storytelling over longevity. The USA Networks series ended in December 2019 as one of the most critically acclaimed series ever produced. View More » Mr Robot is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: How to stream Sleeper Cell TV series that left viewers 'in constant state of suspense' MORE: Amazon Prime quietly drops all episodes of 'brutal' drama with Game of Thrones star MORE: All Neighbours spoilers for next week as legend resigns
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rami Malek and Christian Slater on the relevance of ‘Mr. Robot' at 10: ‘Is technology bridging us, or driving us further apart?'
Mr. Robot was plugged in from the get-go. By the time it premiered on USA Network on June 24, 2015, the pilot episode of the Sam Esmail-masterminded series about a paranoid hacker (Rami Malek) battling a nefarious multinational conglomerate had already been available online for a month, streamed more than 2.6 million times. 'That show was ahead of its time, man,' Christian Slater, who played the eponymous character, recently told Gold Derby, alluding to the current state of Big Brother technology and politics, especially given the rise of artificial intelligence. More from GoldDerby 2025 Emmy nomination predictions: Favorites, underdogs, and possible snubs as voting wraps Carrie Coon talks 'Gilded Age' Season 3: 'We are leaning into the fun parts' Rashida Jones raises the bar in 'Black Mirror' - and deserves an Emmy nomination for it Or as Malek once told us: 'It astonishes me how well Sam Esmail, our brilliant creator, can foresee the future. But that's also troubling.' A brief recap of the show's premise: Slater's Mr. Robot recruits Malek's gifted but troubled cybersecurity whiz Elliot as a modern-day Robin Hood to take down E Corp, which they call E Corp — and which could stand in for any number of tech companies with long-reaching tentacles, then or now. (We'll leave it there; but if you want to know more, like how Mr. Robot is really a manifestation of Elliot's dead father via one of Elliot's alternate personalities, we recommend you start bingeing the show for free on Tubi.) 'It felt special from the beginning,' Slater says today. 'It started off with me and Rami sitting in the Wonder Wheel [at Coney Island] doing all those scenes together. And that was the perfect way to start it. It put us together in close quarters where we couldn't help but get to know each other and how it was we both like to work. So that was a wonderful accident. 'It was exciting. And it just drew the two of us together. So I think it just helped with our chemistry throughout the show.' READ: Mr. Robot was an immediate sensation; aside from its instant online following, critics were universal in their praise, with the pilot, titled 'eps1.0_hellofriend.mov,' scoring a 100 percent 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show would go on to earn 13 Emmy nominations between 2016 and 2020, winning three. USA Network 'It struck a nerve with people,' Malek told Gold Derby after that first season, which still speaks to the show's prescience a decade on. 'I don't know what everybody's yearning for, but it's something they could identify with. This cause. I think an unlikely hero in these times is something people wanted to connect to and were ready for. 'The show offered many characters who were on the fringes of society trying to find their way in, and I think that's something people just got charged by.' During the course of the show's four seasons, Malek said that its too-close-to-reality storylines made him wary of technology – especially when it came to discussing top-secret plot points. 'There are days when I haven't gotten on the phone to share my notes with Sam. I'm that paranoid now that might even call him from a landline somewhere. Sometimes I'll see if I can find a random New York payphone to use. I'm not so paranoid that I go to those lengths every day, but I'm often questioning my method of communication.' USA Networks Malek also revealed that it was vital to Esmail and the cast to tackle cutting-edge issues that they saw were only getting more divisive. 'We talked about it on set quite a bit: we wonder if people are going to get turned off by technology by the end of the show. It does ask you if you're connected or if you're disconnected, or is this world that you live on – that we we all live on – sitting behind a monitor, is this bridging us, or is this driving us even further apart?' Ten years later, and Mr. Robot remains as relevant as ever. 'It was a show that got delivered to me as this hacking story,' Malek told us after that first season, for which he earned the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series. 'But before all of that, it's the story about how we connect as humans and how difficult it can be for some people.' As for Slater, who won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the series, he still views Mr. Robot as a highlight of his storied career. 'I was definitely proud of the show," he says, looking back. "It was wonderful to be on that ride.' Best of GoldDerby Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2 Adam Brody, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and the best of our Emmy Comedy Actor interviews Kristen Bell, Tina Fey, Bridget Everett, and the best of our Emmy Comedy Actress interviews Click here to read the full article.
