Mr. Robot's Co-Producer and Writer

Adana began by taking apart electronics and learning on his father's 486 PC. Inspired by Hackers and WarGames, he broke into his school's AS/400 system in middle school, mainly to see if he could get in. Prank calls and improv later helped him practice building characters and getting information across quickly.

Adana wanted to write and direct, but studied computer engineering and worked in corporate cybersecurity while saving for a career change. He calculated that his savings could cover three years without income, then moved into entertainment through an unpaid production internship and assistant roles. He tracked industry contacts in a spreadsheet and focused on building relationships.

After a producer connected him with Sam Esmail's Mr. Robot script, Adana joined the team and brought experience with enterprise security and penetration testing. He works with consultants Ryan Kazanciyan, Andre McGregor, and James Plouffe to make attacks credible and choose the details that serve each scene. As a writer-producer, he can help shape technical accuracy from the writers' room through filming and editing.

The production films computer screens practically, using preprogrammed Flash animations so actors can type without risking errors or slowing a costly shoot. Complex sequences can take months to build; one Season 2 scene took about two months. The team checks code and interfaces against real tools and period-appropriate software, while showing only excerpts rather than a complete exploit.

Adana and his collaborators look for new vulnerabilities and attack methods, adapting them to the show's timeline and character conflicts. The show's alternate reality game links URLs, QR codes, and other clues into larger puzzles that fans solve together. For aspiring hackers, he recommends self-directed study and conferences; for writers, regular writing, internships, and making yourself useful.