MR. ROBOT’S Sam Esmail On His Dark and Timely Creation

On Having An Astounding Level of Relevance

Speaking of, Mr. Robot‘s debut into the television landscape couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. With the massive waves caused by the Sony hack, the ongoing presence of hacker groups like Anonymous, and even the impact of former NSA employee Edward Snowden’s leaks, the series has become a commentary on the ever evolving dangers of giant information conglomerates, surveillance, and the online world.

So did Esmaill’s story concept get pick up due to its relevance? And is his overall story influenced by what’s happening in the tech world now? The answer to both questions is “a little bit.”

“I guess a little bit,” Esmail confessed. “For example, in episode two F-Society starts releasing the data dumps, revealing all the secrets of Evil Corp. That was something I had in my head before the Sony hack, but that’s something the hackers actually did in the Sony hack and was a major reason why Sony shut down for a while. It’s been weird. I wrote the pilot a few years ago now, and it just all of a sudden — with the timing of it getting very popular… We got picked up on the day the Sony hack got announced. It’s kinda uncanny.”