‘Mr. Robot’ season 2: Rami Malek concentrating effort into making story deliver

“Mr. Robot” was in many ways one of the surprise breakout hits of the summer TV season. It made USA somewhat of a destination again for programming after not having a big hit in a couple of years, and it has already made Rami Malek into a contender at the Golden Globes when nominations are announced next week.

In terms of the story, though, where do we go from here after learning so much about the past of Malik’s Elliot, and also the big reveal concerning White Rose? Malek was not able to provide any particular scoop in an interview with Vulture, but he made it clear that he wants to do everything that he personally can to preserve creator Sam Esmail’s vision for what the show should be:

“I will say this, it doesn’t get any easier for any one of the characters on the show — especially myself. After [Sam] pitched me this season, I called my agents and said, I don’t really feel inclined to do anything between now and then. Because it’s going to require a lot of energy. I want to get it right. I want the show to continue being as accurate and authentic as it has been this past year. And the only way to do that is to give it a hundred percent of my attention, which is about to happen. Is happening.”

At this point, it is fairly easy to figure out that this second season has a good shot of at least matching the first in terms of quality. The only real challenge we fathom it happening is that season 1 provided such a sea change when it comes to how shows present tone and perspective. That feeling won’t be as new again if the show wants to cultivate something similar the second time around.