One of the best byproducts of the Peak TV era is the willingness by creators and networks to end a series before it overstays its welcome. In the past, particularly with American TV, networks would run a show into the ground, treading water for years, just because it would draw ratings. But now, that’s not the case. And because of this newfound creative confidence, people like Sam Esmail are able to walk away from a TV series like “Mr. Robot,” even when the network wants it to keep going.
Speaking to THR, Esmail details why he decided that the next season of “Mr. Robot” would be its last. It was announced, last year, that the popular, Emmy-winning thriller series would call it quits after four seasons, with USA Network, Esmail, and the stars (including Rami Malek) happy to arrive at the ending on their own terms. But apparently, it was really Esmail, and the writers, that decided now was the time.
“When we went into the writers’ room for the fourth season, I put the last two episodes on the board because I always knew what the last two were, and I said, ‘Here’s where we are from the end of season three, how many more episodes are there without treading water?’” said Esmail. “Everyone had thought, ‘Oh, we definitely have two more seasons left.’ But there weren’t. It was basically one last season [worth of material].”
He continued, “So, I went to the network [USA] and everybody was like, ‘No, this can’t be the last season.’ And we kept talking about it and talking about it and there was a lot of anxiety because nobody wants it to end right now — the cast didn’t want it to end, the network didn’t want it to end. But then you start asking yourself, ‘Is this is the only story I can tell?’ I’ve got five million other ideas.”
Plenty of people can argue whether or not “Mr. Robot” is up to the same quality that was found in Season 1, which was a breakthrough for Esmail and Malek, especially. Regardless of your thoughts on the subsequent seasons, it’s refreshing to hear that the folks behind the scenes were perfectly okay with ending it now, and not dragging it for another season, just because people wanted it to last.
No word on when the final season of “Mr. Robot” will premiere, as Malek is off shooting the new James Bond film and the series has never been known to be a quick series to produce. That being said, when it does return to USA Network, there will be a lot of people wondering just how Esmail will end his series, which is known for its various twists.