SILICON VALLEY

The brainchild of Beavis and Butt-head mastermind Mike Judge, HBO’s Silicon Valley is on the verge of its highly-anticipated fourth season. The show follows the adventures of six young software engineers pushing apps in the sparkling startup dreamland of southern San Francisco. In early 2017, during an unrelated entrepreneurial conference, Bill Gates praised Silicon Valley as an entertaining and extremely accurate portrait of its title locale. Gates also lauded the show’s depiction of the investor pitch process, adding that it reminded him of his own pre-Microsoft experiences. After watching the show’s first episode, real-life Silicon emperor Elon Musk politely disagreed, adding, "None of those characters were software engineers. Software engineers are more helpful, thoughtful, and smarter.” Opinions aside, if these guys are watching, somebody must be doing something right! #AppLife #CaliforniaLove #HBOOriginal

Silicon Valley Season 4 Trailer

MR. ROBOT

This USA Network drama follows the story of a hacktivist leader known as Mr. Robot, a man on a mission to liquidate all personal debt by crushing a global megacorporation known as E Corp. Mr. Robot’s key to victory is Elliot Alderston, an extremely talented cybersecurity engineer with multiple mood disorders. The series follows, concurrently, Robot’s pursuit of Alderston, E Corp’s pursuit of Robot, and Alderston’s pursuit of personal peace. In less than three years, Mr. Robot has garnered a Peabody Award, a Golden Globe for Best TV Drama, and six Emmy nominations (including a win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series). Its 10-episode third season kicks off this October, but in the meantime, the first 22 episodes are all available on Amazon Prime for binge streaming.

Mr. Robot Season 3 Teaser

#HacktivismWins #ChristianSlater #USAOriginal

THE IT CROWD

Though its production ceased seven years ago, The It Crowd remains one of the top tech sitcoms ever produced. A product of British public network Channel 4, the show’s brief run and huge word-of-mouth appeal is reminiscent of fellow British sitcom smash The Office (the original Ricky Gervais gem). Set in the London offices of fictional Reyhnholm Industries, The It Crowd follows the antics of a three-member IT team, whose office is located in the crusty basement of the company’s shiny high-rise. Floors above, corporate execs enjoy stunning city views from gleaming, air-conditioned office suites, completely oblivious to the fact that their entire careers depend on the actions of the geek geniuses below them. All four seasons and one summary special are available for stream through Hulu and Amazon.

HALT AND CATCH FIRE

While our other top shows take place in the modern digital world, Halt and Catch Fire focuses on the 80s and early 90s, a hugely pivotal period that saw both the rise of the PC and the birth of the World Wide Web. This gripping tech drama gives a fictional insider’s view of the life-changing digital revolution that ultimately forged the lives and jobs we all live today. Halt and Catch Fire begins in the “Silicon Prairie” of Dallas-Fort Worth, before moving to the Californian Silicon Valley for its final two seasons. All four seasons of this fascinating period series are currently available for stream on YouTube, Amazon Video, Vude, Google Play and iTunes.

#BirthOfTheWeb #PCLife #AMCOriginal

WESTWORLD

Less than halfway through its debut season, HBO’s Westworld pulled away from the streaming pack to become 2016’s most talked about original series. By year’s end, the mind-bending drama had hit full-on phenomenon status, posting the biggest first season in HBO history. If you’re still among the unenlightened, here’s a brief summary: JJ Abrams, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s sci-fi thriller series follows a high-tech theme park full of preprogrammed A.I. hosts entertaining big-money guests. Within the park, guests are free to act as they please without any repercussions—or so says the brochure. A fantastic concept, one that their A.I. entertainers are completely unaware of…right? Season 2 begins here.   

Westworld Season 2 Trailer

#DontMessWithAI #MichaelCrichton #HBOOriginal