'Mr. Robot' Season 2 News: Creator To Direct Every Episode Of New Season
"Mr. Robot" creator and showrunner Sam Esmail is set to direct all 10 episodes of the USA Network techno-thriller's second season, Variety reports.
The pilot episode of the moody drama-thriller premiered on May 27, 2015 on multiple video-on-demand services and online before it was launched on USA Network on June 24. It was renewed for a second season before its premiere on cable and satellite.
"Mr. Robot" tells the story of Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek), a clinically depressed young man working for a cybersecurity company in New York City. He becomes involved in an anarchist social movement aiming to cancel all debts by sabotaging the largest multinational corporation in the world, E Corp (which Elliot thinks of as Evil Corp).
The show has received critical acclaim and nominations for several major awards, including the 20th Satellite Awards, the 2016 Writers Guild Awards, the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. Earlier this year, it won the Audience Award for Best Episodic at the 2015 SXSW Film Audience Awards and the award for Breakthrough Series - Long Form at the 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards.
"We are really happy that people are seeing the same things that we see in a show that we love so much," USA Network president Chris McCumber said. He added: "The competition is so intense — there's so many great shows deserving of recognition and of people's time. It's very hard to break through."
McCumber credited Esmail for making "Mr. Robot" distinctive, saying: "You have to find voices that are relevant and great storytellers and have such a specific vision. In Sam we have found that."
Esmail's move comes after directing three episodes in Season 1 and helping with the show's stunning cinematography. The "Mr. Robot" showrunner now joins the likes of directors Cary Fukunaga and Steven Soderbergh who have also directed at least an entire season of their TV shows. The first season of "True Detective" was directed by Fukunaga, while all of "The Knick's" episodes were directed by Soderbergh.