# Mr. Robot

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Mr. Robot and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A hacker thriller that people praise for realistic technical details, bold episodes and a well-finished ending. Critics often cite its bleak tone, heavy drug scenes and pacing.

## Why people recommend it

- Realistic hacking and technical details (5 comments): "Mr Robot is another great one at that. It has layers of trippy stuff, but the hacking stuff is both real-ish and pretty well explained by the main character's monologues." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47379408)) "They placed a lot of importance in realism, and the show had top notch advisors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48509116)) "Great on the technicals and also a complete mind fuck." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46919324))
- Well-finished, satisfying ending (3 comments): "The last good series I saw that finished well was Mr Robot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47550005)) "it's definitely worth it for the payoff" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057348)) "wraps up very neatly in the last season" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50160281))
- Bold, mind-bending episodes (3 comments): "Mr Robot is another great one at that. It has layers of trippy stuff, but the hacking stuff is both real-ish and pretty well explained by the main character's monologues." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47379408)) ""407 Proxy Authentication Required" was a work of art. Appreciated the whole show, but particularly that episode." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50160499)) "Great on the technicals and also a complete mind fuck." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46919324))

## What people warn about

- Bleak, heavy tone (2 comments): "It is bleak. But the cinematography is amazing, and I think worth it for that alone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50160443)) "perhaps the pacing, or the overall bleakness of the show, that turns me off" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50160399))
- Pacing and over-engineered storytelling (2 comments): "Mr Robot though suffers from a writers room that think telling a story in an over-engineered way makes it more engaging" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50164479)) "perhaps the pacing, or the overall bleakness of the show, that turns me off" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50160399))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Halt and Catch Fire](https://hackerapproved.com/p/halt-and-catch-fire.md): 166 recommend
- [Babylon 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/babylon-5.md): 86 recommend
- [Silicon Valley (TV series)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/silicon-valley.md): 52 recommend
- [Andor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/andor.md): 52 recommend
- [The Wire](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wire.md): 39 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Mr. Robot", https://hackerapproved.com/p/mr-robot/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).