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Universal Cable Productions And Sam Esmail (“Mr. Robot”) Sign Overall Deal

On the heels of last night’s “Mr. Robot” series premiere on USA network and a second season pickup announcement, Universal Cable Productions (UCP) and writer/executive producer Sam Esmail(“Mr. Robot”, “Comet”) announce they have entered a seven-figure overall deal. This marks Esmail’s first overall television deal. As part of it, Esmail will develop and produce scripted programming with UCP for NBCUniversal’s comprehensive portfolio of networks as well as for external and over-the-top channels. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, Chief Content Officer of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and President of Universal Cable Productions.

“Sam is a visionary and, although he might not use the term himself, a real mensch. Everything about the process on ‘Mr. Robot’ has been a dream. We look forward to creating other wonderful shows with him,” said Wachtel.

USA Network announced today a second season pickup of the captivating one-hour original drama series “Mr. Robot”, ahead of the series premiere last night at 10/9c. The buzzy breakout series has already received significant critical acclaim, prestigious industry honors and has garnered nearly 3 million views in its unprecedented pre-linear launch across a wide array of digital platforms. The second season, which will include a minimum of 10 episodes, will air in 2016.

“Mr. Robot” won over audiences at this year’s South By Southwest Festival in March, winning the coveted audience award in the Episodics category. The series was also named an official selection of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in April. “Mr. Robot” follows Elliot (Malek), a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Slater) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world. The series also stars Portia Doubleday (“Her”), Carly Chaikin (“Suburgatory”) and Martin Wallström (“Simple Simon).

From Universal Cable Productions, “Mr. Robot” is from writer and executive producer Sam Esmail (“Comet”) and executive producers Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin (“True Detective”) and Chad Hamilton (“Breakup at a Wedding”).

Esmail joins UCP’s growing line-up of renowned and up-and-coming producers, including Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment, Wes Craven, Doug Liman’s Hypnotic, Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah Films, and Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner’s Benderspink.

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James McDonald

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, James is a Movie Critic with 40 years of experience in the film industry as an Award-Winning Filmmaker. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association.