Mr. Robot already has plenty to captivate viewers, but the show will soon add one more element that is bound to do just that: Season 2 will include at least one scene shot in virtual reality. Jeff Wachtel, chief content officer of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, made the announcement today at Variety’s annual TV Summit.
“We just shot a VR scene for Mr. Robot,” said Wachtel. “It’s really about storytelling. It’s intimate and about the characters.”
The exec’s response left much to be desired in terms of specifics, but the announcement is exciting nonetheless. VR is still on its way to becoming mainstream, and watching it on a network TV series is a unique experience (for those who can). More series will undoubtedly incorporate the technology in the near future, but at the moment, the VR scene puts Mr. Robot in a relatively small group of early adopters.
The episode in question is directed by show creator Sam Esmail, who helms all 10 episodes of season 2. “We definitely go for a cinematic quality, especially in our shots and our framing,” Esmail told Digital Trends in January at New York Comic Con. “[Mr. Robot] lends itself to a really big-screen experience.”
The second season is supposed to get even darker than the first as it continues to follow the journey of young hacker Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek) and his activities with an underground group of hacktivists led by the mysterious Mr. Robot (Christian Slater). The series enjoyed critical success during its inaugural season, not to mention a solid fan base. The series averaged 2.74 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-seven estimates.
Mr. Robot season 2 premieres on July 13 on USA and promises suspense, thought-provoking storylines, and now, virtual reality.
