‘Mr. Robot’ Creator Sam Esmail Jumps From CAA (Exclusive)

Sam Esmail has left CAA, the agency he has called home since 2015.

The writer-director-producer, who became a hot commodity thanks to his TV series Mr. Robot, is now on the hunt for a new agency, sources the The Hollywood Reporter.

It is unclear why he left the agency although sources say it could stem from delays with his latest feature, Panic Carefully. The movie wrapped production a year and a half ago, and has seen its release date pushed from February 2027 to April 2027.

He still remains with his managers at Anonymous Content and lawyer at McKuin Frankel.

Esmail burst onto the scene with Robot, the hit USA Network series that ran from 2015 to 2019. It was the first series for the rising writer, who was repped by ICM before the show established Esmail as a TV writer and producer to be reckoned with.

He went on to exec produce series or mini-series Briarpatch, Homecoming, Gaslit, Angelyne, The Resort, each of them attracting top talent, including movie star Julie Roberts, who became an Esmail regular.

His relationship with Roberts led to the feature Leave the World Behind, an apocalyptic thriller he wrote and directed for Netflix. The movie, which also starred Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, was in the top 10 of most watched movies on the streamer for a while.

With his transition to features underway, he then set up thriller Panic Carefully, also with Roberts, at Warners, giving him a shot at a big theatrical release. The movie wrapped production in March of 2025 and became mired in post-production. It is now due to open April 9, 2027.