'Mr. Robot' Season 2 News: Showrunner Sam Esmail Puts on Director's Hat for Second Season
"Mr. Robot" creator and showrunner Sam Esmail is helming the second season of the critically acclaimed drama/thriller, a move that initially scared his bosses at USA Network.
Apart from serving as creator, head writer, and showrunner for the Golden Globe-winning series, Esmail has decided to take on the additional task of directing all 10 "Mr. Robot" episodes for its upcoming second season.
During an interview with Variety in March, Esmail explained why he felt he needed to direct the show. "I am so very specific in how I want to shoot the show and the visual grammar of how I want to tell the story," he explained. According to the "Mr. Robot" boss, though all of the directors who worked on the show's first season were great, he felt that taking on the director's duties for the show would make managing his day-to-day activities easier and would make production more efficient.
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"Mr. Robot" stars Rami Malek, who plays vigilante hacker Elliot Alderson, and Christian Slater, who plays Mr. Robot, said that they support Esmail's new role as director.
According to Malek, having Esmail behind the camera gives him the opportunity to do "drastic things." "It gives me a lot of latitude in the choices I make," he told Variety. As the actor explained, if the director is someone who isn't as familiar with his character as Esmail is, he would be less inclined to take chances with his portrayal of Elliot.
"It was so perfect that Sam was there to be the oracle, to guide us along and keep us on track," Slater said.
Though the higher-ups at USA Network were reportedly taken aback by Esmail's request to direct season 2, they eventually agreed to it, with the caveat that Esmail would have to have all of the season 2 episodes written before cameras started rolling.
Accompanying Esmail's hard work for "Mr. Robot" is his clear vision about the show's future. According to the "Mr. Robot" creator, he has always had an end date in mind for the show, which USA has been "very supportive" about.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2015, Esmail spoke about the end line for "Mr. Robot," saying that he doesn't see it going beyond four or five seasons.
"One thing I never wanted to do with this show was to take a road where we can just go on and on and belabor this until the ratings drop and they cancel it or we end it," he said.
The second season of "Mr. Robot" is expected to begin airing this summer.
