The line between reality and fiction is constantly being blurred on USA Network's surprise hit drama "Mr. Robot," and no, I'm not just talking about Christian Slater's titular character. Creator and showrunner Sam Esmail has revealed that there are other aspects from season one that aren't real.
Wait, what? You're telling me that the mind-bending twist-and-turn first season threw even more curveballs at us than we initially thought? Yep.
Also, "there's a reason why [Darlene is] not in the Times Square sequence" when Elliot has a hallucination of his family, Esmail said.
Though "Mr. Robot" is seemingly hiding a card up its sleeve at every turn, Esmail insists that he's not trying to produce a show built solely on OMG tweet-worthy reveals.
"I'm not interested in 'gotcha' moments or trying to shock or surprise the audience," Esmail said. "As long as that [process] is organic, then it will feel real. It's not my agenda to keep shocking you."
To that point, it's true that all of "Mr. Robot's" twists have felt natural, as the audience has learned these truths right alongside protagonist Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek). Esmail plans to continue that trend in the upcoming second season with Elliot's "emotional journey" serving as the centerpiece of the show's sophomore run.
"I really wanted to focus on that and make it less about the plot," he said. "For me, the headline for season 2 is, 'How do these two guys [Elliot and Mr. Robot] reconcile? How does Elliot reconcile with the fact that he's been seeing a delusion, a fantasy?'
"That's a tough pill to swallow, and we're really going into the mind of a person who's just become aware of it. Will twists organically derive out of that? If I were a better man, I'd say yes."
In today's spoiler-centric entertainment landscape, "Mr. Robot" has to be applauded for keeping many of its big reveals a secret right up until they aired live. That's something that will hopefully carry over into season two, especially if Slater has anything to say about it.
"Everybody did keep it secret," the actor said. "Nobody spilled the beans. They respect the audience and wanted them to have the full experience."
"Mr. Robot" will return to USA Network for a second season on July 13.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
