A show like Mr. Robot leaves its mark on the world. As USA’s techno-thriller enters its fourth and final season, viewers may reflect on what the show’s legacy will be. Will it be remembered as the show that launched star Rami Malek and creator Sam Esmail, who have gone on to win an Emmy and an Oscar and become an influential, high-powered producer, respectively? Will it be considered one of the defining Peak TV shows, where a previously middle-of-the-road basic cable network proved it could compete quality-wise with the premium cable heavy-hitters? Will it be pointed to as one of the only times left-wing economic ideas were taken seriously on TV? (What Elliot Alderson and Bernie Sanders want are not that different, they just have very different ways of achieving their goals.) Or will its legacy be what Malek hopes it will be, which is that everyone who watched it felt a little more empowered to change to world?
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“When you do this job, there are certain expectations for your work. But for an audience’s perspective, to each their own,” the Emmy-winning star of the show told TV Guide at Mr. Robot‘s Season 4 premiere. “I hope they get out of it exactly what they need from it in that moment.”
“And from the perception I get from the human beings I meet in this country and around the world, I feel that collectively and hopefully they are lifted by it,” Malek said. “That their voice gets to be a little bit louder and stronger. And that they feel that they can effect difference in a way that perhaps they wouldn’t have been able to prior to seeing the show. And that is the greatest effect that I think entertainment, television, film, or any aspect can have on culture.”
A lofty hope, but a noble one.
Mr. Robot Season 4 premieres Sunday, Oct. 6 at 10/9c on USA.
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot