20 Best Shows Like Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot was a fantastic show that pushed the envelope of television and the sci-fi genre quite far. Each season provided its fair share of jaw-dropping twists and the acting was always consistently amazing. The best shows like Mr. Robot capture the unpredictable nature of the series as well as live up to its acting pedigree.

Updated on February 1st, 2022 by Shawn S. Lealos: Mr. Robot continues to be a popular show, years after it aired its series finale. The reason is simple. This was a show that was a slow burn mystery, with cutting edge directing and effects, top-notch acting, and a great story from start to finish. Mr. Robot also approached the idea of how technology plays into a world that still seeks anarchy on a certain level.

It is a universal story that played into a new generation’s lifestyle. This is also not new for fans of movies and television. With so many great TV shows based around the same ideas of rebelling against authority, fear of technology, and mind-twisting plots, there’s plenty more for fans looking for shows like Mr. Robot to discover.

Halt and Catch Fire (2014)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Halt and Catch Fire was an AMC series that ran from 2014 to 2017 with four seasons. The show was set in the past, taking place in one decade period from 1983 to 1995, the show tracked the growth of the World Wide Web, with the title referring to machine code.

With Mr. Robot all about computer hacking, it provides a nice counterpoint to see a series about where the internet really got its start as a tool for everyone to use.

Control Z (2020)

• Available to stream on Netflix

The plot of Mr. Robot followed a clandestine group planning a mass terrorist act via computer hacking. Part of the suspense was trying to realize who was to blame, who set everything up, and how everyone played into the entire organization.

For people who love shows with this type of mistrust and deceit, the underrated 2020 Netflix drama Control Z could be a perfect show to binge on. The series was about a hacker who exposed the secrets of the students in the school, as he systematically set out to destroy everyone.

Altered Carbon (2018)

• Available to stream on Netflix

Mr. Robot wasn’t a science fiction series, but it played hard with the same tropes. For fans who loved the technological aspects of the series, there is a Netflix sci-fi series that is just as smart and featured two very different seasons before its cancelation.

Altered Carbon was a show that took place in the future where the wealthy could upload their consciousness and then download it into a new body after they died. In the first season, the consciousness of a wealthy man is downloaded into a former soldier to find out who killed him.

Counterpart (2017)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

The Prime Video series Counterpart plays with the idea of two different sides to the same person, similar to the themes in Mr. Robot. In Mr. Robot, Elliot has a split personality that is named Mr. Robot and is a duplicate of his dead father. He has to come to terms with who he is during the series.

In Counterpart, the series presents counter Earths, where there are versions of the same characters in both worlds. J.K. Simmons plays a boring analyst who ends up transferred with his counterpart, who happens to be a secret agent.

12 Monkeys (2015)

• Available to stream on Hulu

Based on the movie of the same name, SyFy made 12 Monkeys into a series that lasted for four seasons. Much like Mr. Robot, this series played around with a clandestine group that plans to destroy the world.

Much like the movie, a group from the future sends people back in time to find a way to stop the incident that decimates the Earth. The series was allowed to finish its run, so unlike many SyFy shows that end up canceled in their prime, this one has a beginning, middle, and end, and is ready to binge right now.

Braindead (2016)

• Available to stream on Paramount+

Braindead was a short-lived show that centered on politicians and people in Washington D.C. acting overly aggressive and radicalizing their political beliefs.

The show had relevant social commentary on America’s current political world while also having engaging storytelling and a mysterious and slowly revealed explanation of what was happening. It’s an engaging and unique show just like Mr. Robot. 

Mindhunter (2017)

• Available to stream on Netflix

Mindhunter is based on the real-life work of criminal profilers who coined the term serial killer and the show focuses on some of their first case studies of serial killers and looks into the psychology behind what made them kill.

Mindhunter is an intense slow-burn show with stunning cinematography and deep commentary on why people are the way they are that is similar to Mr. Robot delving into why people are obsessed with their digital and material lives.

Silicon Valley (2014)

• Available to stream on HBO Max

Although Silicon Valley is more of a comedic show than Mr. Robot, it still operates with technology as its central plot and has some commentary about the potential dangers of new technology and how success can change people.

Most of the series is an inspiring look at how the team of misfits creates a new and impressive app, which causes some of the members of the team to let the fame get to them and think they’re unstoppable. The obsession with success and the technology focus of the show make it similar to Mr. Robot. 

Bodyguard (2018)

• Available to stream on Netflix

Netflix’s Bodyguard presents a tangled plot where the audience is never sure who to trust including the protagonist, which is a similar narrative to Mr. Robot where Elliott is revealed to be an unreliable narrator and protagonist.

Bodyguard also deals with conspiracies within the government and is an intense and unpredictable show making it similar to Mr. Robot. 

Hannibal (2013)

• Available to stream on Hulu

Hannibal follows the iconic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter as he sees patients during the day, but secretly kills and eats people outside of work hours.

Criminal profiler Will Graham interacts with him unknowingly and Hannibal plays with him and his team as they try to solve the murders he’s committing. Hannibal is a stylish cat and mouse game storyline with extreme consequences making it similar to Mr. Robot. 

Black Mirror (2011)

• Available to stream on Netflix

Those looking for a show that’s in the ballpark of trippiness Mr. Robot often ventures into will definitely want to watch Black Mirror. It’s different from Mr. Robot in that it is not a traditional series. Each episode is different.

It’s an anthology show so it delivers a new and inventive story about the horrors of technology with each episode. It’s easy to get hooked on this genre-bending series.

Person of Interest (2011)

• Available to stream on HBO Max

Person of Interest revolves around the idea of a machine that can predict when someone will be involved, or perpetrate, a violent crime. The show initially begins as a somewhat standard procedural. The audience follows a former CIA agent who gets involved with a reclusive tech billionaire as they try to stop these crimes from happening.

However, as the show continues, it delves deeper into its concept and becomes an awesome conspiracy thriller. Plus it has a great cast of actors like Taraji P. Henson, Amy Acker, Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, and more.

Orphan Black (2013)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Orphan Black is the series that put actress Tatiana Maslany’s name on the map. The BBC America show followed Maslany as she took on the difficult task of playing multiple versions of herself. It’s a show that is all about the life of several clones and it involves shadowy conspiracies, evil corporations, and even evil clones.

It’s a fascinating and quick binge-watch. With short seasons, it won’t take fans long at all to go through and they definitely won’t regret it. Maslany is a force to be reckoned with in the acting world.

Dexter (2006)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Many people feel that Dexter went downhill in its later seasons but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching until at least the fifth season. Season four is often hailed as the best season of the entire series.

The series is based on a popular book series and follows Michael C. Hall’s character, Dexter Morgan, who works as a blood-spatter expert in Miami. When he’s not working, he’s hunting down evil people and murdering them.

Legion (2017)

• Available to stream on Hulu

Legion is a short-lived FX series based on a series of Marvel comics. However, Legion is unlike any other Marvel television show out there. The series follows David Haller, a man with schizophrenia and hidden abilities who doesn’t begin to learn who he really is until he falls in love with another patient at a mental hospital.

He begins to realize that some of the things he sees and hears may not be real at all. It’s a very trippy show, similar to Mr. Robot for people that like to have their reality questioned.

Westworld (2016)

• Available to stream on HBO Max

Westworld is a high-concept HBO series about a massive theme park full of lifelike machines.

There are multiple “worlds” within the park, including a place for samurais and beyond. The main thing they have in common is each is populated with extremely life-like robots that can do whatever the park guests want. However, when the robots begin to gain sentience that’s when the plot really kicks in.

Homecoming (2018)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Homecoming is a relatively new Amazon Original series that starred Julia Roberts in its first season. Roberts played Heidi Bergman, a caseworker who helped soldiers in their transition back into normal life.

Eventually, Bergman tries to start her life over somewhere new and realizes that something was terribly amiss in her old job. This psychological thriller is very intense and will certainly have fans on the edge of their seats. The series is based on a popular podcast of the same name.

Twin Peaks (1990)

• Available to stream on Paramount+

Most mystery shows take at least some inspiration from Twin Peaks. Despite only airing for two seasons initially in the 1990s, Twin Peaks has become an example of iconic television and storytelling.

The show is all about the weird and dangerous small town of Twin Peaks. Everything appears to be normal there until Laura Palmer is murdered. An investigation is launched by the main characters into discovering who killed her and in the process, a ton of dark secrets are dug up in the town. A recent revival of the series aired last year on Showtime.

Utopia (2013)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Utopia is a slightly lesser-known television show, but an incredible one nonetheless. The series revolves around a dangerous corporation and scientists that are capable of potentially sterilizing the human race.

Everyone is in a race to discover a graphic novel known as The Utopia Experiments, which is said to predict epidemics. Fans will have to watch the show to find out more but it’s only two seasons and has been hailed as one of the best television series of all time. An American version is currently in the works at Amazon Studios. The show originally premiered on Channel 4.

Humans (2015)

• Available to stream on Prime Video

Humans is another sci-fi series from Channel 4. It starred Gemma Chan and wrapped up its short run last year. Its concept is somewhat similar to Westworld in that it follows a universe where people can bring humanoid-like robots into their homes to help them out with their day-to-day life.

As fans might expect from a story like this one, having robots with human-like capabilities is not necessarily the best idea. It’s a very well-written series and had a passionate fan base during its run.

About The Author

Madison Lennon
(211 Articles Published)

Horror Junkie. Blogger. Fiction Writer. The main things I care about in life can be found on a screen, film, television, video games, add horror into the mix and I’m in love. I write for several online sites and am currently working full-time as a freelance entertainment writer!

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