Thriller series dubbed ‘better than Breaking Bad’ finally available to stream

Stephen Porzio

It ran for four seasons and holds a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score.

A psychological thriller series that has been dubbed “even better than Breaking Bad” is finally available to stream in its entirety via the RTÉ Player.

That show is Mr. Robot, which ran for four seasons between 2015 and 2019 and focuses on Elliot Alderson (Oscar-winner Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody), a troubled vigilante hacker who is recruited by the titular enigmatic anarchist (Christian Slater) to join his team of hacktivists known as ‘fsociety’.

The first season sees fsociety working to encrypt one of the largest corporations in the world’s data in order to cancel all consumer debt.

Heavily inspired by Fight Club, as well as a range of other conspiracy and tech thrillers, Mr. Robot was created by Sam Esmail – who was in the news a couple of months ago as he wrote and directed the Netflix apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind.

Alongside Malek and Slater, the main cast of Mr. Robot included over its four seasons BD Wong, Bobby Cannavale, Carly Chaikin, Grace Gummer, Martin Wallström and Portia Doubleday.

Thanks to its dark themes, great performances, stylish direction and twisty plot-lines, Mr. Robot earned rave reviews from critics.

INTRODUCING Mr. Robot 🎬

Our latest drama following Elliot, a young programmer, who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night 👀 STARRING @ramiimalek 🍿

📺: All episodes streaming now on @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/mGQ9KQyW0N
— RTÉ (@rte) September 3, 2024

Here is a sample of some positive notices its first season earned:

Daily Mail (UK): “This is tensely plotted, tensely directed and hypnotically compelling.”

Daily Telegraph (UK): “Packed with twists, intrigue and in-jokes, Mr Robot makes most other dramas look pedestrian and positively prehistoric. Let’s hope it finds the audience it deserves.”

Globe and Mail: “It’s very good, cool, spooky and strong. Paranoia is its theme. And it’s brilliantly done, one of those series that, although fiction, uncannily and eerily connects with very real current events.”

The Guardian: “It’s perfect binge-watch material: turn it on and on again.”

NPR: “Rami Malek brings an amazing depth and detached charm to the role of technician Elliot Alderson.”

And while Mr. Robot was never as big a phenomenon as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, it did gain a cult following of fans – with one of whom claiming the show is actually better than the Bryan Cranston-starring series.

Just finished rewatching MR ROBOT cuz this might be the greatest show ever created on this fkin planet cuz I wanna rewatch it over again & again man it’s even better than breaking bad,Sam Esmail and Rami Malek just take a bow. What geniuses. Fkin nailed it. Whaaaata masterpiece. pic.twitter.com/L8LOBOcNr3
— A.M (@micnestler) July 29, 2023

“Just finished rewatching Mr Robot because this might be the greatest show ever created on this fkin planet,” they wrote on Twitter.

“I wanna rewatch it over again and again… It’s even better than Breaking Bad. Sam Esmail and Rami Malek just take a bow. What geniuses. Fkin nailed it. What a masterpiece.”

Having not been available to stream on any service in Ireland for a while, RTÉ announced today (Tuesday, 3 September) that the whole show has been added to its streaming player.

You can check out Mr. Robot on the RTÉ Player right here.

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