Mr. Robot will not air their season finale due to the Virginia TV shooting.
Following the Virginia TV station shooting on Wednesday, USA Network has put the season finale of Mr. Robot due to what it says are similarities between the episode and the tragic events.
“The previously filmed season finale of Mr. Robot contains a graphic scene similar in nature to today’s tragic events in Virginia. Out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers, we are postponing tonight’s episode. Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time,” the network said in a statement.
The scene in question from the finale of the hit TV series depicts an individual getting shot wound during a TV interview, similar to the way reporter Alison Parker was killed on live TV while doing an interview for WDBJ, the CBS affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia. Photographer Adam Ward and Vicki Gardner, the individual who was being interview by Parker, were also shot. Ward died from his injuries, while Gardner is in stable condition after undergoing surgery. The gunman, former WDBJ employee Vester Lee Flanagan II, shot himself after the attack and died of his injuries.
Instead of releasing the episode, USA network will repeat the episode and air the finale Wednesday, September 2nd at 10 p.m.
This is not the first time TV shows have delayed episodes due to violent content. The season three finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured a high school shooting, but did not air until several months after due to the Columbine massacre.
Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson, a young man living in New York City, who works at the cybersecurity company Allsafe as a security engineer. Alderson suffers from social anxiety disorder and clinical depression. He connects with people by hacking them, which often leads him to act as a cyber-vigilante.He is recruited by a mysterious insurrectionary anarchist known as “Mr. Robot”, and joins his team of hacktivists known as “fsociety”. One of their missions is to cancel all debts by taking down one of the largest corporations in the world, E Corp (known as “Evil Corp” by Elliot), which also happens to be Allsafe’s biggest client.
