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.
Why are there not more shows like Mr Robot?
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.
Earlier this year, rumours about Mr Robot returning for a fifth and final season started to circulate online.
If you’ve finished Mr Robot, what can you binge instead?
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.
Mr Robot is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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