The show may be called Mr. Robot, but the ladies are taking charge in season two. Grace Gummer, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday and Stephanie Corneliussen took the stage at the 2016 TCA Summer Press Tour to answer all things Mr. Robot and made it clear these character are not playing second fiddle to Rami Malek or Christian Slater's characters here.
"They could be a show within themselves," Dawn Olmstead, executive vice president of development at Universal Cable Productions, told members of the press. "They're so strong and have so much ambition."
Gummer joined the cast for season two as FBI agent Dominique "Dom" DiPierro, joining Chaikin's hacker Darlene, Doubleday's Angela and Corneliussen's mysterious Joanna, creating a cabal of multi-dimensional female characters.
"I don't think we're all driven by some…female agenda. We have our own purpose and our own drive. We are not secondary characters," Gummer said. "We drive the story as much as Rami and Christian."
"We are women and we are equals," Corneliussen added. "That makes something new in television and film."
The actresses spoke about the freedom they have to collaborate with each other on their character's relationships and with creator Sam Esmail about things such as their character's quirks. "We get to take risks with each other," Doubleday said.
"The show is dark but we have such a good time on set," Gummer said. "It's a really good hang. We're all really close…Since [Esmail] cares so much…he lives and breathes the show. That vibe permeates through set."
Mr. Robot, which is up for Emmys in several categories including Outstanding Drama Series, has become known for pushing boundaries with what's shown on TV. The characters swear, which is freeing according to Chaikin, and get to do some pretty reprehensible stuff sometimes. Stuff usually reserved for male characters. Most of those tasks full to Corneliussen's character. In season one she induced her own labor with a lobster fork, something that she didn't think we could even make TV.
"I was completely mortified when I read that I looked at [Esmail] and said, ‘We can't put this on TV' and we did. It was a big thing. Like you said a lot of male actors and characters get to do outrageous stuff," she said. "I love that Joanna gets to push the limits and she gets to walk on the edge…it's full power…it's a mesh of female and masculine energy I feel. I think it's fun to do."
Mr. Robot airs Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on USA. (E! and USA NBCUniversal family.)