06-22-2026, 01:46 PM
Most TV depictions of hacking are embarrassing. Here are the rare exceptions and what they get right.
Mr. Robot
The gold standard. The technical adviser (Michael Bazzell) is a former FBI cyber investigator and it shows. The hacks are real techniques: social engineering, phishing, Raspberry Pi evil twin access points, BadUSB, actual terminal commands. The show treats the audience as intelligent and doesn't explain things it doesn't need to explain. Essential viewing.
Halt and Catch Fire
Not about hacking but about the PC industry in the 80s and early 90s. Gets the culture, the economics, and the technical decisions of the era exactly right. One of the most underrated shows ever made.
Devs
FX mini-series about a quantum computing startup. The quantum mechanics is speculative but the startup culture, the ethics questions, and the software engineering environment are depicted with unusual accuracy.
Silicon Valley
Obviously comedy, obviously exaggerated, but the technical jokes are real (the middle-out compression algorithm, the Hooli vs startup culture, the AWS billing discussion). Written in consultation with actual engineers.
What to avoid if accuracy matters to you:
Pretty much any mainstream show that shows someone "hacking" by typing fast on a green terminal with explosions of scrolling text. CSI: Cyber is arguably the most inaccurate portrayal of security work ever committed to television.
Any others worth watching?
Mr. Robot
The gold standard. The technical adviser (Michael Bazzell) is a former FBI cyber investigator and it shows. The hacks are real techniques: social engineering, phishing, Raspberry Pi evil twin access points, BadUSB, actual terminal commands. The show treats the audience as intelligent and doesn't explain things it doesn't need to explain. Essential viewing.
Halt and Catch Fire
Not about hacking but about the PC industry in the 80s and early 90s. Gets the culture, the economics, and the technical decisions of the era exactly right. One of the most underrated shows ever made.
Devs
FX mini-series about a quantum computing startup. The quantum mechanics is speculative but the startup culture, the ethics questions, and the software engineering environment are depicted with unusual accuracy.
Silicon Valley
Obviously comedy, obviously exaggerated, but the technical jokes are real (the middle-out compression algorithm, the Hooli vs startup culture, the AWS billing discussion). Written in consultation with actual engineers.
What to avoid if accuracy matters to you:
Pretty much any mainstream show that shows someone "hacking" by typing fast on a green terminal with explosions of scrolling text. CSI: Cyber is arguably the most inaccurate portrayal of security work ever committed to television.
Any others worth watching?