Photo of Rami Malek in 'Mr. Robot,' by Peter Kramer

With the second season of Mr. Robot officially premiering Wednesday, creator Sam Esmail has already looked ahead and says he sees the show ending with a modest five seasons.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Esmail said he was very upfront with USA Network from the beginning, admitting he doesn't "see it going more than four, maybe five, max five [seasons]," although network brass sometimes jokes about "when we go into season seven, or eight, or nine."

Despite the show's massive buzz and Golden Globe wins, Esmail said he has been very careful about how the show proceeds with such attention on it. And he believes the network is on the same page about its future: "They know that we should end this in the right way and not just drag it out for the sake of everything else," he said. "I think they're very respectful and supportive."

Mr. Robot, which was Variance's Best TV Show of 2015, "leaked" the first half of its two-hour premiere this past Sunday night for a limited time on Twitter. The first two episodes of season two will air in full Wednesday (July 13) at 10 p.m. EST, followed by the debut of the live aftershow Hacking Robot.