Mr. Robot is a TV series that follows Elliot, a genius hacker set on disrupting the capitalist system. Across four seasons, the show explores Elliot’s lonely existence, mental struggles, and a plot filled with unexpected turns. In this Mr. Robot parents guide, we break down the show’s elements to help you decide if it’s a fit for your child’s viewing.
What Is Mr. Robot About?
Mr. Robot is about a hacker named Elliot who is a loner. When we say loner, we mean very very lonely. In fact, the first episode of the series starts with a troubling inner monologue about how he thinks the world works using phrases such as “the one percent of the one percent”. Elliot also happens to be a genius hacker who is simultaneously a morphine addict (one could argue that Elliot is not an addict and measures every use of drugs).
The four seasons of the show all revolve around Elliot, his allies, and his enemies in his mission to make the capitalist system collapse on its head while also dealing with mental struggles. It’s difficult to talk about the show without giving anything away because the show maybe contains the most plot twists of any show. The writing is amazing since it’s easy to make plot twists feel cheesy and just for shock value but none of the twists in Mr. Robot are things that you can anticipate, yet they make so much sense in retrospect.
What Is Mr. Robot Rated?
IMDB’s parental guide to Mr. Robot tells us that Mr. Robot’s age rating was TV-MA in the United States, which it means it was meant for mature audiences, just like Breaking Bad. This is roughly equivalent to being +17. According to the same page, the sex and nudity in Mr. Robot is moderate, sometimes showing male buttocks but almost never showing anything else but majorly implying sex.
CommonSenseMedia’s review of Mr. Robot Parents guide suggests a +16 age rating for the show. They also point to the fact that though sex is mostly implied and there are no real sex scenes, there is a scene where a character gags and binds his pregnant wife to the bed, on her insistence) to have sex.
What We Think About Mr. Robot
The show goes deep into the mental trauma of the protagonist and other important side-characters which can be disturbing for many viewers. The show deals with mature themes such as control, capitalism, drug abuse, child molestation, and more. These themes are sometimes hard for adults to digest, let alone children.
The show also has very intense high-stress episodes, especially in season 3 and 4. Combine this with many swear words that are used in the show alongside the implied sex and somewhat erotic scenes such as when a man deliberately enters a bathroom where a woman is peeing and watches her, but fascinatingly she responds positively to this act. It doesn’t seem like this show is for children. TV-MA was an appropriate age rating for the show.
Conclusion
Though Mr. Robot might not be what you choose your child to watch, they can still access it through different outlets such as streaming services and more. To keep your child safe in the digital age, it’s recommended to use a parental control app on the devices they use. Safes is a third-party parental control app you can download which is available on multiple platforms including iOS and Android.
