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Mr. Robot is a cyber thriller with a psychological bent. It first premiered in 2015, after which it rapidly established itself as a critically and commercially successful show. The story revolves around Rami Malek's Elliot, a socially awkward but brilliant hacker.
By day, Elliot works in cybersecurity. By night, he wages a separate battle against those he considers corrupt. It all gets messy when Elliot rubs elbows with Mr. Robot, who is, in essence, a secretive figure leading the hacktivist group 'fsociety'.
Shot in New York City for the most part, the series had that zesty, gritty, hyper-real feel to it. For the most part, the city was more than just scenery, it was part of the story.
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Mr. Robot's shoot locations explored (from Season 1-4)
1) Church Avenue Subway Station (Season 1)
Elliot lives with several mental health challenges and describes himself as someone who “likes morphine a little too much.” His typical outfit—black shoes, black jeans, and a black hoodie worn up—makes him blend easily into his surroundings. Elliot spends much of his time hacking the people around him, including co-workers, his therapist, and even his dealer.
His routine shifts after a chance meeting with a man wearing a jacket that reads “Mr. Robot.” The man, played by Christian Slater, first approaches Elliot before exiting at the F/G Church Avenue station in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Elliot follows. Despite Mr. Robot telling Elliot they’re “going to Brooklyn,” local viewers may recognize that the Church Avenue platform is already located in Brooklyn.
2) fsociety Headquarters (Season 1)
The base of operations for the show's central hacking group, fsociety, is depicted as an abandoned arcade in Coney Island. The real location used for the exterior is the Eldorado Arcade, a long-standing fixture at Surf Avenue and The Bowery. Despite its portrayal in the series, the arcade remains open and operational, featuring bumper cars, classic games, and other attractions across two buildings.
While the exterior shots are filmed on location, the interior scenes of fsociety’s headquarters were created on a set at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City.
3) Elliot’s Apartment Building (Season 2)
Elliot’s apartment is located at 217 E. Broadway, in the Lower East Side/Chinatown area. In the show, he shares the space with Shayla, his drug dealer and later girlfriend.
For filming, the art department added E Corp. posters to the shuttered dumpling shop at street level, referencing Elliot’s cybersecurity work for the powerful conglomerate. The building, including the dumpling shop and adjacent laundromat, was sold in June 2017 for $3.3 million.
4) Extreme Diner (Season 2)
At the start of season 2, Elliot is shown living with his mother in a modest townhouse. He follows a strict routine, which includes regular meals with his friend Leon at a place called “Extreme Diner.” Both the interior and exterior scenes for this diner were filmed at Paphos Diner, located at Broadway Junction on the eastern edge of Bedford-Stuyvesant, near East New York.
For Mr. Robot, the exterior was repainted and rebranded as “Extreme Diner.”
5) The Basketball Court at Marion Hopkinson Playground (Season 2)
In this version of reality, Elliot visits a basketball court daily, sitting in the same spot to watch pickup games. These scenes were filmed at Marion Hopkinson Playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The court sits at the corner of Marion Street and Thomas S. Boyland Street in eastern Bed-Stuy. Bleachers seen in the show were added for production; the real park has benches in their place.
The park is named after Francis Marion and Francis Hopkinson, both figures from the American Revolution. According to the NYC Parks Department, one of the walkways in the park follows the original path of the Jamaica Plank Road, which dates back to the Revolutionary War.
Originally opened in 1938, Marion Hopkinson Playground saw renovations in 2006 that included the addition of the basketball court. The renovation was recognized with a “Building Brooklyn” award from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
6) Cortlandt Alley (Season 3)
Following the season 2 finale, Elliot is shown recovering from a gunshot wound in an apartment, with Angela present under the Dark Army’s instructions. Once he becomes aware of the situation, he returns to his own apartment and finds Darlene there, now seemingly working with the FBI.
To access the internet, Darlene takes Elliot to a two-level loft-style hacker space. The exterior of this location was filmed on Cortlandt Alley in the Chinatown/Tribeca area, between White and Warren Street. Cortlandt Alley is a frequently used location in film and television. When Darlene and Elliot leave the space, they’re seen exiting at 70 White Street, located at the corner of Cortlandt Alley.
7) Whiterose’s Mansion (Season 4)
The locations set in Beijing, including the home of Minister Zhang—China’s Minister of State Security—were primarily filmed at Alder Manor in Yonkers, just north of New York City. The manor also serves as the backdrop for the early meeting between Zhang and the FBI.
Minister Zhang, portrayed by B.D. Wong also appears as Whiterose, the character’s other persona. Whiterose is first introduced in Season 1, meeting Elliot in a computer repair shop near Rockefeller Center. In the series, that location is later destroyed in a fire.
Alder Manor, once owned by Gilded Age industrialist W.B. Thompson, later became a Catholic high school and junior college. While certain parts of the estate, such as the empty pool and surrounding school buildings, were not shown in Mr. Robot, the manor itself features prominently in scenes set outside the U.S.
From hidden arcades to public parks, Mr. Robot used New York City as more than just a backdrop—it became part of the show’s identity. Each location added depth to Elliot’s world, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The show is currently streaming on Apple TV+ & Prime Video.
