How can a TV drama with formulaic elements, hacker against The Man, rebel against corporate greed, be so engrossing? Credit “Mr. Robot” with great casting and a continually surprising script.
“Mr. Robot” may be the first seriously anti-capitalist drama to air on a for-profit TV network. The hour premiered Friday at 8 p.m. locally on USA Network. And it renewed the series for a second season even before the premiere.
The intriguing, unglamorous presence of Rami Malek (“The Pacific”) as Eliot, cyber-security engineer by day and vigilante hacker by night, leads us through the psychological thriller as narrator and gives the series an initial boost. From that casting, the creators build an increasingly riveting hour with Christian Slater in the title role, emerging slyly when you least expect him.
The series touches on themes of invasion of privacy and Big Brother, drug addiction and bad relationships. It does so with intelligence and an irresistible sophistication unusual for the USA Network brand. Written by Sam Esmail, “Mr. Robot” could point a new director toward contemporary drama for USA.
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