"Mr. Robot," 2015's surprise summer hit from USA Network, walked away from the 2016 SAG Awards with a Best Drama win and a whole new cache of good will from fans and critics alike. Though star Rami Malek did not bring home the Best Actor in a Drama award for his portrayal of Elliot Anderson, he's still excited for what should be a very interesting second season.
Knowing the sheer craziness of "Mr. Robot" - it's one of the most unique shows on television - Malek cleared his schedule for season two so he could only focus on the show. Now, he's told Entertainment Weekly why that was necessary.
"We're going to shoot everything as if we're shooting a movie, so just jumping around from episode to episode, which seems very daunting but we have one director for the entire season, Sam Esmail, our creator."
Esmail has his hands full as one of the few creators and showrunners to write and direct most/all episodes of a TV season (he was credited with five episodes in season one, including the premiere and finale). But it doesn't seem as if the longer to-do list is impacting his creative talents.
Malek teased season two's extreme focus on characterization, saying the writers "delve much more into the psychosis and his mental illness this year." As we saw last year, Malek crushes the more unstable aspects of Elliot's personality and is at his best when being asked to do something outside of the box. Given all of the questions still surrounding Elliot and his mental state, doubling down on the crazy sounds like a great way to provide answers for viewers in regards to some still lingering major mysteries while also giving Malek some meaty material to work with.
Season two of "Mr. Robot" is expected to return to USA Network this summer.
