Christian Slater's hacker drama 'Mr Robot' renewed for second season

USA Network says it has renewed its one-hour drama series Mr. Robot for a 10-episode, second season to air in 2016.

The critically acclaimed show garnered nearly 3 million views across a wide array of digital platforms before its television premiere Wednesday.

"We knew from the moment we read Sam Esmail's provocative script, and witnessed the brilliant performances of Rami Malek and Christian Slater, that Mr. Robot is a stand-out series that is unlike anything currently on television," USA Network President Chris McCumber said in a statement. "The overwhelmingly positive fan reactions to the pilot and the broad sampling of it, reaffirms our confidence in the series, and we're excited to see where this timely drama will take us for Season 2."

"Sam Esmail has captured and distilled our ongoing cultural conversation about identity, privacy, value and self-worth," added Jeff Wachtel, president and chief content officer for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. "We are all talking about the central themes of Mr. Robot -- Sam has just done it in a completely original and uniquely compelling way."

The show follows Malek's character Elliot, 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 of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect," a synopsis said. "Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational chief executive officers he believes are running -- and ruining -- the world."