You should definitely watch at least the first season. In a way it’s a complete story that really pays off and isn’t that much of a time commitment and you can decide from there if you want more.

Definitely give it a shot.

Yes.

What makes it so good for you

Why do you think it’s so good?

Great writing with a lot of different plot twists, they're actually correct with their tech, and it's just a good show overall.

I was hooked from the first scene and spent a week binge watching the entire series during the first lockdown.

Like what I’m hearing. I feel like it’s a similar vibe to The Leftovers. Accurate?

It’s a great show.

It’s not one of my best shows ever but it is definitely one of the best looking shows.

Don't ask or read more about it. It fits with your favorites but knowing less is better for the full ride.

Counterpoint: It is one of the best shows ever.

Mr Robot is one of the few mystery shows that answers every single mystery and satisfyingly so. Watch it.

These questions are so stupid. "Hey guys this show is widely regarded as one of the best tv shows of all time. Is it good?"

LOL Ok. Didn’t ask if it was good. Asked if I should watch it based on my preferences. Completely different question

It's remarkable and totally underrated. The ending is good, too.

I agree with the OP. Season 1 was a thrill to watch. Personally seasons 2 and 3 get progressively worse, I'd call them boring and rudderless. Season 4, the final season has a lot of payoffs but I honestly don't know if it's worth it getting to that point slogging through the rest of the story.

That being said all the characters feel very human. They're not simply plot elements, even the side characters. Everyone reacts according to their own beliefs and characteristics. There are consequences, intrigue and hidden agendas behind every action. At times the intrigue goes a little too deep as you can tell the writers got a little over their heads at times.

It's really hard to say much about the series as it's kind of chock full of spoilers, though. Even making comparisons to other media feels a bit too leading. You really need to go into this show with blinders on. Just watching the first 15 minutes should give you a good feel for the vibe of the rest of the season though.

IMO, it was alright. Way overhyped & pretty meh. Some parts of Season 2 are just cringey, such as the money burning in public and some other parts. Other parts are really great though.

Severance and Mr. Robot are both among my favorite shows ever made, I would recommend anyone who's a fan of one of those to watch the other.

The thing about nobody in this thread elaborating on what makes this show great is that it's like dissecting a frog: you understand it better but it kills it in the process. Comparing the show to its influences absolutely ruins the plot. I'll lift the veil a teeny tiny bit, but only in spoiler tags.

>!To me, the story unfolding itself in highly unexpected ways, something something unreliable narrator, and the exquisite cinematography really pull you in!<

yes. it is one of the few shows that rewards you handsomely because the whole thing was planned out from start to finish. season 4 has payoff after payoff that was set up YEARS in advance. tbh it's everything TV should be

agreed. Sam Esmail planned the whole thing out meticulously from the start

Ugh, I want to watch this to the end but I’ve already tried twice (once as it aired and again right around when it was finishing) and life just got in the way.

I feel like if I watch season 1 again it will be too familiar.

Based on your favorite shows and your preferences I would say yes. My only caveat would be if someone might be triggered by raw elements like the depiction of mental illness, violence, trauma or if they’re looking for something that has lighthearted elements to reconsider it.

Edit for clarification: this was the case for me, love the show but when I binged it I found myself to be more anxious because I got an insight on the things I mentioned above even though I can typically handle darker elements.

I normally like shows that Reddit likes and Reddit loves the show, but I hated it. It was so edgelord cringe that I had to stop watching.

Yeah I said in another comment seasons 2 & 3 really detracted from the series overall. If I could I'd condense the series into 2 seasons. There's a good story tucked away, it just gets dragged out way too long.

season 1 is fantastic

the rest completely miss the mark tho

It’s nice to know that objectively.

Not until you've finished your chores!

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I LOVE Severance. Cannot stand Mr. Robot.

Personally i hate shows that go all-in on the unreliable narrator. Ret-conning events because the narrator lied does not mean you are being clever, it just means i shouldn’t trust anything i see, in that case why tf should i care.

I like using a puzzle analogy. A good mystery gives you puzzle pieces but doesn’t tell you what the picture looks like. You can tell which obvious pieces go together but not exactly what it means, as the story goes on the picture becomes more clear and you get an earned “ah-ha”. A bad mystery gives you pieces and the picture but when you start putting it together it flips the board and says “hah got you! You’re so confused right now!” Then you just sit there staring at a giant mess until they just explain what the puzzle was all along.

Yes, you should watch it.

Familiarize yourself with Linux, and give it a season

Once you see White Rose storylines, , give up.

I couldn't stand it. It's initially interesting, but got boring fast.

It's good but it gets a little too up its own ass at some point. You can definitely tell when the awards started pouring in and the writers got a little too ambitious for their own good.

Was one of my favorite shows when it was on the air, but I don't think it quite stuck the landing with it's final season. Most people complain about the 2nd season not really having a straightforward plot which didn't bother me at all. But regardless of whether it was that or the death of tv it had really bad ratings for the rest of the series and there were two actors that were probably not included in the last season for issues that happened off set that I haven't seen any coverage of even a comment from Sam Esmail or Rami Malek about.

It's one of my favorite shows of all time. If you love Severence, there's no way you won't like it.

Damn usually people agree that season 3 is fantastic

Season 1 was probably the best series I ever saw- season 2 lost me

Would definitely recommend. The first season can be a bit cringey in a few parts, specifically the first and last episode. It's a great show overall, season 3 is my favorite season of television. It's also one of the best directed shows I've seen

It's crazy how much stuff in the first season directly spells out what's actually going on but you just brush it off on the first watch

Yeah ignore this guy. Season 1 is great, season 2 is meh (but amazing on a rewatch) and then season 3 and 4 get progressively better.

No, they're both fantastic shows but I wouldn't say they fit in the same category

Not OP but I'll give you a break down of my thoughts on what makes it good:

1. Narrative format. Elliot "breaks the fourth wall" by speaking to the audience in voice overs, which results in some interesting dynamics and plays an important part in both the plot and his character development. It's probably one of the most effective uses in voice over narrative in TV since Wonder Years.

2. Direction. The direction of the show is just unique and also very effective. The camera shots, framing, angles, are all used to help influence our views, feelings towards characters, and understanding of what's happening. After season 1 there are some very well done scenes that make use of long shots and revealing of scenes as things unfold on and off camera.

3. Characters. Like Sopranos, these characters are treated very much like real people. They get into crazy situations and it effects them. We see how it effects them over time. They change, their relationships and dynamics to one another change, and all of this effects their choices and the larger plot. It's a psychological show, with a psychologist as an occasional character (like Sopranos), so it takes into consideration how the psyches of people work. And there are some fascinating characters, some who aren't even main characters, and they all have complicated depth.

4. Plot and story. Mr. Robot is a show that moves forward while still returning to past effects. The plot develops with each season, though season 2 is a little more character focused, and it kind of just keeps unfolding. But, essentially, the plot and story is all really about Elliot and Mr. Robot, which is why 1, 2, and 3 of my list here are handled so carefully. It needs those elements to work well for its story to be good. And so there's an attention to all of it that helps it become a well crafted story.

Overall, it's good TV because it's aware of its medium and craft and how to use those effectively. This also makes it a bit too "pretentious" for some, because it very much is trying to make an art out of it, it's aware of what it's doing. That's not for everyone. But I think if you enjoy character driven stories it's still good even if it feels a little too meta or pretentious at times.

It does use similar fantasy scenarios as Sopranos, where it delves into the mind of the protagonist like we do with Tony, but it really pushes on that farther and takes it up several notches. That can be too much for people when it happens, but it's not every episode either.

Anyway, that's what I think makes it good. It's firing on all cylinders and fits the genres I like. But your own tastes may differ.

>level 1Mnemosense · 1 hr. agoMr Robot is one of the few mystery shows that answers every single mystery

I don't think it's necessarily a good thing for all questions to be answered. It's best that some questions be left unanswered. See The Leftovers.

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Started watching it. Guessed a big reveal about 2 episodes in. Checked to confirm if I was right and I was so I called it there.

I've tried three times to get into it, I watch the first few episodes and tap out. The main character is just so unrelatable, unlikable, and uninteresting to me.... and I like Rami Malek. FTR I loved Severance too.

I think it was an amazing show.

However, while the show grabs your attention with its initial vigilante hacker plot, the story is fundamentally about the MC making peace with his mental trauma (which is incidentally why people tend to find season 2-3 weaker, since the vigilante hacker stuff takes a bit of a backseat), so if you enjoy great character development, an unreliable narrator (due to mental trauma) that makes you question what's real and what isn't, shrouded with a gripping vigilante hacker story line, then I do recommend this show.

Also, I'm a big fan of all the shows you mentioned (happy to see Le Bureau des Légendes get some love), and also a big fan of this one, so take that as you will.

I think the struggle with a lot of people is that while the show starts off as a vigilante hacker story, it starts to focus more on the psychology of the main character, which some people enjoyed less.

The final season is fantastic and the show has probably one of the most satisfying endings I've ever seen.

>I really like shows with great writing, good acting, and character development

You'll get those.

>What I don’t like is a ton of Flashbacks and OTT visuals, etc.

It has some flashbacks, but they're not a large focus from what I recall.

As for over the top visuals, any examples of what you would consider as such?

Great show; the cinematography is second to none. I am debating a rewatch.

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Well, they're both similar in the sense that they're both fundamentally about the protagonist's mental trauma, both have unreliable narrators as a result of this psychological trauma, and both are about how one comes to resolve that trauma to finally find peace.

The main difference is that Mr Robot has a lot more action/thriller elements to its plot.

It's not the fastest show, but it's one of my favorites. The mystery, the intensity, the characters. I personally never got bored with it. It's such a weird show but not in a bad way. I was curious to see what Elliott did next. I will say season 2 is way weaker though. Wouldn't say bad, just a bit annoying at times.

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"I keep hearing it's one of the best shows ever yet here I am still stupidly asking this question."

FTFY

I’ve heard ppl say The Walking Dead is one of the best shows ever & I hate it. So what’s your point? Lol

Maybe I'm misremembering here, but I'm pretty sure it only seriously retcons one thing and that one thing is possibly the greatest twist in the history of television. Mainly because it's something we all should have seen coming and was right in front of our noses the entire time, but nobody actually figured it out. That's the mark of an excellent twist.

First off, no you haven't. At least not from people who actually care about good television.

Secondly, you could just as easily have searched this on google and found other reddit posts where people have asked the exact same thing about this show and gotten your answers from there. Which it seems like you've already done if you've kept hearing it's one of the best. Because people around the water cooler are definitely not talking about it anymore considering it ended like 4 years ago. So I'm not sure why you felt you needed to ask the same damn question yourself on your own post where it sounds like you already had your answer from the masses.

People like different things though. I absolutely love some of your preference and don’t like others. Only way to know whether you’ll like the show is to check it out. There’s a chance you will like it but only you would know for sure.

Just watch it. Everything leads up to an amazing finale.

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Still don’t get the point in your comment considering I added the context of MY current favorite shows. This should imply to the reader that I would like that factored into their reply of whether I should watch the show or not. No worries tho lol

I personally loved it. Best shot show in all of television (particularly seasons 3 and 4), takes a lot of risks that have huge payoffs, emotionally satisfying, tense, and the literal best last 5 seconds of any show I've watched. If you like severance there's a very good chance you'll get into Mr robot. It sucks it didn't get the recognition I think it deserves outside of reddit.

Nah, you shouldn't watch it. Show is too high brow for you.

They're both crazy shows that focus a lot on psychological stuff, but Mr Robot is more like a thriller, The Leftovers is a heavy drama.

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It's a show that seems to be about a very narrow topic at the beginning, but progresses to be about almost EVERYTHING. Even characters that are introduced as flat stereotypes are rounded out into complex humans trying to do the best they can, and the show explores big questions about the various crises of the modern age and what we as individuals can really do about them, if anything.

It's one of the rare shows where each episode builds on all the ones before to become even more thought-provoking.

It's a lot less novelistic than The Leftovers and is more in the vein of an espionage thriller genre-wise. It isn't as concerned with religion proper as The Leftovers is, but more with people trying to play God and generally failing.

Based on your preferences I'd say it's a MORE THAN definite yes.

I enjoyed the ride and it was certainly pretty unique. It gets a little too convoluted which hinders the storytelling and not all the twists land as hard as they could. I don't know if it ever is as purely fun as that first episode but it gets pretty close. But worth the watch for sure.

You prefer shows with good writing, good acting and character development.....?

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FUCKIN WERIDO.

One of the best/satisfying finales in my opinion, whole series is a trip.

I recommend starting from the beginning. First season lets you familiarise with the world, the characters and ends in an optimistic place. Season 2 is when I feel the show stops holding your hand and trusts you enough to go darker and weirder.

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A special bonus: As a computer programmer, I appreciate how well-researched and crafted all of the hacking scenes are. Just about every other show with Hollywood hacking makes me cringe. It makes real hacking tense and exciting while still being realistic. The r/itsaunixsystem sub tries and fails to find anything at fault with the show.

There's an early S1 example where he's trying to figure out some guy's password, and tries a dictionary attack (running through a bunch of common passwords). It actually doesn't work, and realizes he should hunt for personal data on his Facebook account to get there. If it was some Hollywood show, he'd get the password in ten seconds and it would have some goofy GUI interface to tell him he "Hacked the Gibson" or some shit. The art of the craft is weaved into the story rather well.

The router S2 episode also comes to mind, but I won't say anything else because of spoilers.

Let's not spoil anything about the story, shall we?

If you like Kubrick, then for sure. Esmail loves artistic long shots (in a good way) with heavy and well written dialogue.

I honestly regard it as one of my top three shows of all time. The other two being Dark and The Wire.

Some of the best cinematography I've come across in a TV show. Even ignoring the great characters, acting, music, and story, it brings me joy just seeing the amount of creativity and passion put into the camera framing and movements.

I know the show is pretty old now but I would consider deleting this comment. A "should I watch ____" thread isn't exactly one that people go into expecting spoilers.

Me when I find the mystery box in Call of Duty Zombies

You’re putting more effort into a Reddit post about watching it than it would be to just watch it.

My all time favorite show, I made the mistake of dropping it at the beginning of season 2 after thinking it wasn't nearly exciting as season 1. Only came back to it years later when I heard people saying that season 4 was even better than season 1, which I had a hard time believing. Seasons 2 and 3 can be slow at time but they are all necessary to build up to season 4, if you can make it there you won't regret it. Every episode of season 4 is a banger, I consider the best single season of any TV show.

The Leftovers is probably my second favorite show and while I wouldn't consider the two show similar, they definitely explore some common themes regarding human connection/loneliness.

A counterpoint to the popular opinion. I liked the first scene, after that I lost interest pretty rapidly. I forced myself to finish the first season and even started season 2 but it's not a show you can watch while on your phone but because I wasn't engaged I was never giving it my full attention. Its simultaneously confusing with whats actually happening while the season 1 twist is very obvious.

I fucking love Mr robot. Go in completely blind. It's better than sopranos breaking bad and the wire imo.

I mean it’s good. I kinda get the feeling it’s what the boondocks saints was to my generation.

I think everyone would enjoy it more if they didn’t try to contextualize it with their personal plights. But 🤷‍♂️

Yes 100%. It is a zeitgeist show. In 20 years, someone will ask what was 2017 like. Just watch Mr Robot. It’s not the plot points or anything like that. It is the style and the tone. Some of the best television ever made.

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Control is just an illusion!

Great show. Hated the ending personally. Some people loved the ending. Worth a watch.

Something real quick I'll add to this conversation. I love Mr. Robot for many reasons, most already listed in this thread. But a certain character that suffers from panic attacks is the only character I've come across the represents them in a way that feels accurate to my own experiences and I freaking love this show for that.

I thought it was one of the worst endings I've seen. It felt like a cheesy cop-out to me. But I seem to be the minority on that opinion.

100%. Ending felt unplanned, like they have a great concept and no idea where they were going with it. When they finally got there they had to bullshit something.

It pulls you in harder than just about any show I've watched. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for almost the entire series, kind of like breaking bad but much more engaging and fast paced. And it doesn't even have a massive buildup, it hooks you from the first scene and will keep you guessing the whole time.

Best character ever

Mr. Robot is great, just be warned it's not happy in the slightest, as in "we'll give you a puppy dog, shoot it in front of you, and then immediately move on like it never happened to rob you of the grieving process," type not happy. Not to mention all characters are fundamentally lonely and/or desperate to their core which doesn't make things any better. As a work of art and as a story the show is amazing, but just make sure you're in a good space before watching it.

I made the mistake of watching it right when the pandemic started. I was like "Wow, the school I work is closed down, now I have time to catch up on all the shows I've been wanting to watch," and it really didn't do much good for my emotional state during that time.

Season one was good. But it went off the rails after that.

As everyone said, fantastic show. But, in particular, 407 Proxy Authentication Required in season four is one of the greatest television episodes of all-time, IMO, with a huge payoff. The writing, the performances, everything was perfect.

Yes! I loved that aspect as well. I'm not super well versed in coding or hacking, but hearing that they actually listened to hacking consultants and incorporated a lot of real world stuff into the show was really cool. The interviews with Esmail when he talks about how they really actually cared about getting it as right as they could were always cool to read and listen to. He seems genuinely interested in the culture and work of it. It shows their dedication to character too, hacking is important to Elliot, so getting it right really mattered.

I thought it was pretty bad. I tried to sit through it because I was bored and sick at home or during lockdown or something. I finally gave up halfway through S2.

yes, it is

It’s the best show I’ve ever watched. Season 2 can be a bit of a slog but thats because it’s putting the pieces in place for season 3/4 which absolutely nail it out of the park. If you decide you just can’t make it through then that’s fine but you should still check out season 4 episode 7. Perfect filmmaking.

If you like hacking, unreliable narrators, thrillers, twists with payoff and breathtaking cinematography then yes you should watch it. The show doesn’t hold your hand though you do have to pay attention to it.

And guy really wants to be convinced in the comments, lmao. Just use this time to watch the first episode, which is a very good pilot.

What question would you prefer remain unanswered in Mr. Robot

The season 2 twist? Apparently everybody figured that out over on the subreddit. I wasn't there at the time but it was pretty funny going back and reading. Id have never guessed it myself but it is excruciatingly obvious in hindsight.

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If you can stand the main character (which I personally have a really hard time doing) it's worth a watch

It's fine if you like tedious monologues about how people are sheep for drinking Coca Cola

This is what I'm saying. How is spending all this time thinking about consuming media or shitting on media you haven't watched productive? Is your life just not meaningful on its own? Watch the thing and move on. Or don't watch the thing and move on.

Someone has never had a PC bluescreen

It's not bad, but not even close to being one of the 'best shows ever'.

Did you just seriously try to be that needlessly mean and insult someone for "having an unmeaningful life" because they asked a question you don't approve of?

There's a lot of meaningful and worthwhile back-and-forth in many of the conversations in this thread. As someone that hasn't watched the series, I found it to be helpful and I'm glad much of it took place.

I loved Mr Robot (and agree that it answered most of the questions perfectly) but I still don't understand the whole point of his character was to be honest. It felt like the writers had no idea what to do with him from the get go.

Most of it anyway, Angela >!was killed off because her actress wanted out of the show, this has been confirmed both by her actress and Sam Esmail. Whilst a reason has never been formally given (some rumours claimed she had a messy breakup with Rami Malek but that could be rubbish) it's notable that she hasn't acted in anything since, so she possibly was just fed up with acting in general.!<

Definitely talking about Proxy Authentication Required. No idea why you thought I was talking about S2 there lmfao

If you take your time with the show, there's so many rabbit holes and easter eggs in subreddit discussions. Just search by season and episode like S1E01 or S01E01.

There are no spoilers, but the one I think about all the time is that the creator rendered an image as a sound at the beginning of a really intense episode. The image was the "Hang in There Baby" cat image. A fan's boyfriend was an audio engineer and immediately recognized what the sound was, and processed the audio back into an image.

"There was a strange squiggly noise at the beginning of this episode. My boyfriend is an audio engineer and knew right away that it was the sound of an image being rendered as audio. He grabbed the audio and processed it and found the "Hang in there baby" cat. But what does it mean?"

Never watched it. Just making a general point.

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Definitely. The story can get really confusing sometimes with all the subplots, but the atmosphere, acting, twists and the big reveal at the end are absolutely phenomenal.

I tried but it was so slow and boring as shit.

Why are you seeking Reddit's opinion? If you're interested, give it another chance!

I really don't know how people were satisfied with how White Rose and The Dark Army plot resolved. After spending so much time on White Rose outmaneuvering every other major player in the show, it was insanely disappointing to have her arc and the mysteries surrounding her plan to be answered with essentially that she's just crazy.

Elliot's personal trauma and how his mental health felt like it had been planned from the start, and was a very satisfying wrap up. E-Corp, White Rose and a lot of the mysteries felt like they never had a plan behind them.

yes, but the depressing outlook is contagious.

Absolutely. It’s one of the greatest shows ever done. S2 is generally regarded as the weakest but press on.

tbf, reddit gigapraises the leftovers and to me it is not that good at all.

at a lot of times it made me go "really? this is so stupid" like when i was watching season 7-8 of TWD

im fully prepared for the downvotes.

I tried to watch it twice, once alone and once with my gf (she was also trying a rewatch). We both enjoyed season 1 and couldn't remember why we stopped watching independently of each other. The season 2 happened... We had to keep pausing because it was killing our spirits.. Eventually we quit. I'm sorry, but if I need to slog though hours of boredom just to enjoy the later parts of your show, it's not a good show. I won't be attempting a third rewatch to finish

That’s my first thought, like, just start the show, watch a few episodes and then you’ll decide if the show is for you, I could understand this question regarding video games cause you have to buy them, but movies or TV show, it’s just silly

Dude... spoiler warning please. OP hasn't seen it

I binged a season or two of it. But it just got too weird for me so I dropped it.

I was disappointed by The Leftovers. Some questions do need answers like how did Kevin get powers and what did it mean? With a show that finishes with a big question mark about the sudden departure, why bother introducing an extra layer of supernatural things and not explaining that. I am ok with no explanation about the sudden departure but to me not explaining supernatural Kevin felt like a cop out. Like Lindelof hadn't decided whether or not he wanted to give an answer about the sudden departure and gave Kevin superpowers, then decided for an open ended mystery, but it leaves Kevin's arc twisting in the wind. It's a good show that is frustrating because of its shortcommings

Nah. The Leftovers is perfect as is.

That's it. It laid out mysteries through its run and it manages to answer many of them, while leaving others unanswered but that don't feel frustrating.

Sam Esmail knows what he's doing. This show has it all: killer cinematography, a superb soundtrack and score, delicious acting from amazing actors, a plot that hooks you from the start, memorable characters, innovative visual storytelling, a satisfying ending and incredible social commentary. Mr. Robot knew what it wanted to do and ran away with it. There is some growing pains on season 2 because season 1 was the buzziest show of the season, but the show is very good. One of my favorites.

With the exception being “international assassin”

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted for asking a question lol but while different they are 2 of my favorite 3 or 4 shows ever

Yes dude! I had a completely similar experience. I watched the first few episodes back when the show was fresh and it kinda didn’t grab me. Also a lack of attention probably.

Then last year I gave it another try and wow. It is one of my TOP series of all time. It’s amazing.

Mr Robot overall was a good show with moments of absolute brilliance and a slow start. It was worth watching, though personally I think its a little overrated. Particularly on this sub.

Very suspenseful and it felt like each episode had a distinct climax which kept my attention

If you want to watch the performance that made a virtual unknown one of the most lauded actors in the world then yeh

Damn that’s sad she was amazing.

Second season is a bit weaker but overall it is a great ride with some episodes being the best stuff made on TV.

It's a great show in my opinion due to the complexity of the characters and strong overall writing. As long as you don't long up the plot you'll definitely won't see some of the plot twist. Also by and large pretty accurate depiction of hacking and hacking methods. I would also mention that it's not a feel good show ie you'll feel the stress the characters go through.