In just a few weeks, USA's acclaimed drama Mr. Robot will return to television, kicking off its sophomore season in the wake of season one's EvilCorp hack. The show, which earned a Golden Globe this year for Best TV Series Drama, burst onto the scene last summer, and the network has since been dropping teasers left and right to further amp up its dedicated fan-base for the season two premiere on July 13th.

While season one established the show's cast of characters – in particular, engineer/hacker Elliot (Rami Malek), who is recruited to underground hacker group Fsociety, which is led by its mysterious, eponymous leader (played by Christian Slater) – fans can expect the second season to address pertinent, home-hitting issues such as data encryption and privacy.

But that's not all. According to Variety, fans can now look forward to an expanded second season, with USA Network adding two additional episodes (titled eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc and eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc) to its original ten-episode order. Excitingly, season two, now twelve episodes long, will premiere next month with two back-to-back episodes, followed immediately by a special, hour-long live after-show, Hacking Robot. As of now, no host has been confirmed for the after-show, which will be executive produced by Wilshire Studios' Aliyah Silverstein. It also remains to be seen whether Hacking Robot will be a special or weekly occurrence.

Elliott with a masked character in a suit ready to record an fsociety video in Mr. Robot.

Chris McCumber (President Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment) expressed his confidence that season two will raise the bar on the show, delivering the kind of excitement fans have naturally come to expect following Mr. Robot season one's dramatic conclusion:

"The first season of Mr. Robot was everything we hoped for – and then some. So it's no surprise that [show creator Sam Esmail] and team have raised the bar even more in Season two. From the first moments of the new season, it'll be clear that audiences are in for something incredibly special and wholly unexpected."

Given Mr. Robot's explosive popularity among fans and critics alike, it's no surprise additional episodes have been ordered for season two (with creator Sam Esmail directing them all). Further building the hype, it also makes sense that USA has decided to add Hacking Robot to its programming. Other networks have already found success in hosting live after-shows after their signature shows have aired. AMC, for instance, has found success in The Talking Dead (following The Walking Dead) and Talking Saul (for Better Call Saul) – both of which are hosted by TV personality and funnyman Chris Hardwick – while HBO recently launched After the Thrones (following Game of Thrones). Given the network precedent already in place, Hacking Robot therefore seems poised for success among Mr. Robot's fan-base.

NEXT: Mr. Robot Stars Talk Season 2 Changes

Mr. Robot returns July 13, 2016 on USA Network, followed by Hacking Robot.

Source: Variety