Oct 11, 2017 · 59m · y-combinator
Mr. Robot's Co-Producer and Writer - Kor Adana · Y Combinator
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In this Y Combinator interview, Mr. Robot writer and co-producer Kor Adana discusses his journey from childhood hacking and corporate cybersecurity to television writing. He details how he integrates real-world technical authenticity, practical on-set computer mechanics, and interactive ARGs into the critically acclaimed series.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The partners as informed peer 1.2 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 0.1 The partners pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is the partners, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 43:54 Playful refusal to divulge ARG secrets
Kor repeatedly and playfully stonewalls Craig's fan questions regarding ARG solutions and season 3 clues to preserve the puzzles for fans.
Hardest push from the partners ▶ 2:08 Clarifying definition of hackingCraig prompts Kor to clarify whether his teenage hacking was done inside the school or from home, pressing on what the actual goal of breaking into the system was.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 22:29 How practical terminal shooting actually works on setKor educates Craig and the audience on why real terminals cannot be typed live on camera and explains the custom Flash framework built to prevent costly syntax mistakes.
The partners hold their own ▶ 50:40 Host points out SEO manipulation in security softwareCraig demonstrates practical tech savvy by noting how modern security vendors game SEO, leading unsuspecting users to download sketchy malware instead of reliable tools.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The partners as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The partners pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Fascination with Electronics, Building Computers, and First Middle School Hack | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Craig asks friendly opening questions about how Kor got into hacking, prompting Kor to recount his childhood experiments with hardware, software, and his first middle school AS400 hack. | |
| Incorporating Real Hacks into Mr. Robot and Foundations in Social Engineering | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Kor explains how his prank calling evolved into an early masterclass in social engineering and character improv, connecting it directly to Elliot's first hack in Mr. Robot. | |
| Navigating Parental Expectations, Film School Aspirations, and Corporate Cybersecurity | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Kor details his father pushing him into computer engineering over film school, his college red team/blue team simulations, and working penetration testing in corporate cybersecurity. | |
| Financial Planning, Moving to Los Angeles, and Strategic Industry Networking | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Craig asks how Kor timed his transition out of tech; Kor outlines his methodical 3-year living-expense financial runway spreadsheet and early networking efforts. | |
| Networking Strategies for Introverts, Unpaid Internships, and Coming Clean to Family | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Kor shares tactical advice on networking as an introvert using tracking spreadsheets, grinding through unpaid script coverage, and his parents' contrasting reactions upon finding out he switched careers. | |
| Landing Mr. Robot, Meeting Sam Esmail, and Realizing Elliot's Journey | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Craig notes how closely Elliot's career matches Kor's background, and Kor describes meeting Sam Esmail and realizing his IT past was the exact asset needed for the show. | |
| Practical Screen Shooting and Creating Custom Flash Animations for Set | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Craig asks why Mr. Robot uses Flash animations on set instead of live terminals, and Kor explains the practical necessity of zero syntax errors during high-cost filming days. | |
| Designing Complex Hacks with Consultants and Balancing Accuracy with Narrative | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Kor discusses working with real-world cybersecurity consultants to design multi-terminal attacks like Stagefright while keeping code technically sound without becoming a literal instruction manual. | |
| Sourcing Legacy Software, Period Accuracy, and Generating Dramatic Tension | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Kor explains how the writers justify using post-2015 exploits and describe the intense logistical effort of acquiring authentic 2015 software ROMs for historical accuracy. | |
| Dual Role as Writer-Producer and Launching the Mr. Robot Alternate Reality Game | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Kor details his leverage as a writer-producer fighting for tech accuracy in the room and explains the origins of the intricate ARG embedded into on-screen IP addresses and QR codes. | |
| The Subreddit Community and Solving the Infamous Kernel Panic Puzzle | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Craig brings up the infamous kernel panics puzzle from the ARG, and Kor explains how flashing single characters across Linux crash screens kept the subreddit baffled for months. | |
| Fan Questions: Easter Eggs, ARG Progress, and Season 3 Release Details | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Craig reads fan questions from Reddit about ARG season 2 winners and season 3 clues, with Kor intentionally playing coy to protect the meta-game. | |
| Technical Realism vs. Sci-Fi, Addressing Code Nitpicks, and Personal Cybersecurity Habits | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Kor describes his envy of sci-fi shows that can invent tech freely versus the grueling work of authentic coding, and shares his personal security habits like strict 2FA and paid VPNs. | |
| Webcam Monitoring, Corporate Data Privacy, Blockchain, and Audience Accessibility | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Kor explains why he monitors system background processes rather than putting tape on his webcam, and analyzes how Mr. Robot incorporates Bitcoin and Ecoin without spoon-feeding exposition. | |
| Career Advice for Hackers and TV Writers, Season 3 Teaser, and Farewell | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Craig asks for parting career advice for aspiring hackers and screenwriters, and Kor lays out practical resources and teases Season 3's central theme of disintegration. |
Statements from this episode (17)
Kor Adana: Hacking is using systems in unintended ways
“I want to, you know, use systems in a way that they weren't supposed to be used for. Which is a definition of hacking, so to speak.”
Elliot's first hack in Mr. Robot was based on Kor Adana's own
“Years later in the writer's room for Mr. Robot, and you'll see this in season two, I think it's the fourth episode, fourth or fifth episode, in the beginning where there's this VO of Elliot talking about his first major hack. And he's like, I broke into my lib…”
Kor Adana saved three years of living expenses before entering television
“I saved up enough where I could three years of work, three years of working for no income. I would be fine. And in my mind, I'm like, all right, if I can't make this happen in three years, then I'm not cut out to do it.”
Kor Adana's workplace apathy was perceived as confidence, accelerating his promotions
“This kind of apathetic attitude, which was I guess perceived as like confident and you know, like I really know my shit because I don't care about the outcome... And it did really well for my, like I ended up doing really well and moving up the corporate ladde…”
Entertainment industry networking is inherently transactional
“There's something oddly, in the entertainment industry, there's something oddly transactional about the relationships, And if you go into it kind of understanding that, like, it's not to say that it's, they're insincere because you're, you obviously have frien…”
Elliot Alderson's cybersecurity role in Mr. Robot mirrored Kor Adana's job
“And Sam didn't know that I had a previous life as like a cyber security, you know, cyber security guy. And basically what Elliot did on the show was my old job.”
Mr. Robot shot all computer screens practically, avoiding green screens entirely
“We shoot everything practically on Mr. Robot, meaning we don't shoot green screens, we don't burn anything in in post.”
Mr. Robot used interactive Flash animations for on-screen terminal hacking scenes
“The way we achieve that is through flash animation. So I'll work closely with an animator to create an interactive demo, basically, where everything looks legit, like, looks like a real desktop environment, looks like a real terminal window, but it's not. It's…”
Designing the opening hack in Mr. Robot Season 2 took two months
“In season two, I think it was the first scene in episode two of four. So that would be 2.3. And it's the one I referenced earlier of him talking with the voiceover about his first hack and he has four terminal screen windows open up. He has exploit code in one…”
Mr. Robot screen code compiles but intentionally omits steps to prevent attacks
“I mean, the code that we're using, yes. But we're not going to show, we never show enough”
Television production is the only justifiable remaining use case for Adobe Flash
“The only thing that you would ever want to
Use flash for is working on a television show like Mr. Robot”
Every URL and QR code in Mr. Robot leads to interactive puzzles
“Any URL, web address, IP address, host name that you see on any of our screens, any QR code, any barcode that you see anywhere on the show in the frame of Mr. Robot will lead you somewhere and it will lead you to a puzzle.”
Mr. Robot Season 2 ARG Flashed Linux Crash Screens Containing Hidden URL
“And it was just the sequence where we flashed like a frame of a piece, like a bunch of different screens, like crash screens of like a Linux system crashing. And if you found the right character on each of those screens in order, it would lead you to another U…”
Mr. Robot incorporates recent cyber exploits by assuming characters discovered them early
“We sort of fudge it because Okay, maybe it was not disclosed at that time, but, you know, hackers were still aware of it, or the community, like certain members of the community were aware of it, and we can just say that Elliott and F Society, you know, were a…”
Mr. Robot's on-screen code snippets can be found in full on GitHub
“If you were to just screenshot a bit of our code or a bit of source code that's on one of the screens and research it, you'll Be able to find it on GitHub. You'll be able to find it somewhere in its entirety.”
Kor Adana in 2017: Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are the future
“Personally, I think blockchain is unbelievably exciting, and I think it's the future. So I am all for people investing in cryptocurrencies, investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and it is a volatile market right now, and you have ICOs coming out every day, and That …”