Robotaired, the USA hacker drama is back, and by some critical accounts,its better than ever.
Robotis very much stillMr.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the season three premiere…read at your own risk!
Credit: Michael Parmelee/USA Network
Its a massive structure that could have something to do with gaining an unprecedented control over reality.
And then theres Trump.
EW spoke with Esmail aboutthe premiereand the larger shifts within the show.
Thats what I think youre feeling the most in season 3.
The first season is honestly just a huge setup and introduction to the world.
Now, a third season is an acceleration point of our story and our march toward the endgame.
I actually have no idea.
The only thing I do know is that season 2 will probably hold a special place in my heart.
Obviously that was divisive with the audience.
Every season is very different.
We progress and morph into a different stage of the story every season.
For me, thats the exciting part of telling this story and going through the experience.
It is continually refreshing itself and continually going to a different stage.
You caught some s for your long runtimes last season.
Of the six episodes Ive seen from season 3, everything is under an hour.
What changed?Honestly, that had more to do with the production schedule.
As far as long runtimes go, its a weird thing because runtime doesnt really matter.
I just watched the pilot ofThe Deuce, which is amazing and 90 minutes.
I didnt hear one critic complain about it, and thats because its really great.
When somethings really great, runtimes will never matter.
Catching that s, it had more to do with our execution or pacing or whatever.
I have no idea.
Runtimes are pretty academic.
What matters is how engaged you are.
The first episode is a big step toward clarifying Angelas motivations and her meeting with Whiterose.
What shes committed to is also going to be in the dark.
Portia just had to know that Angela was committed and passionate about it and emotionally tied to it.
I dont know if its her eyes or if its the way she speaks.
She convinces me that she believes.
I dont even cut from her.
Thats how intoxicating I find her.
She just excels at being mysterious, but also being very clear with her emotional commitment.
We kind of wanted to model Whiteroses arc on that level.
Thats as much as we want to reveal right now to the audience.
Were going to give out more details later.
It was important to set that up this season because I think weve been teasing it long enough.
Just as a general question, totally disconnected fromMr.
Then all of the rules go out the window.
Throwing out time travel in the middle of a series run is a little late.
With the show technically set in the past, you finally caught up to Trump.
Its funny in a depressing way, or depressing in a funny way.
What kind of discussions went into deciding how to include him?For us, its no holds barred.
The cyber-punk roots of the show still exist and still have to be there.
When it came to Trump, it was sort of a no-brainer.
For me, the election of Trump is not political.
Its not a Republican-Democrat or conservative-liberal thing.
Its a guy whos unintelligent and unprincipled and unfit to run a super power.
We see now how dangerous that is, not just for the country, but for the world.
Mr. Robotairs Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
