It’s been a quiet few years for Black Mirror. The dystopian anthology series from Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones was one of the defining dramas of the 2010s, from its early series on Channel 4, to its bigger-budget, star-laden seasons on Netflix. But the last episodes of the show ran arrived nearly three years ago now, marking a considerable hiatus for a show that quickly became a buzz-phrase in the cultural lexicon. (To be fair, the last couple of years really have all been a bit Black Mirror.) Now, though, it seems the series is finally ready to return – according to Variety, work is underway on a sixth season at Netflix.
While Netflix itself hasn’t commented, Variety reports that a new set of episodes is being worked on, each being approached with movie-level production values. It seems the delay in Black Mirror’s return is due to wrangling with rights issues (Brooker and Jones left their previous production company, which still holds the Black Mirror format and episodes rights, and started a new one), which have now been smoothed out, allowing its long-awaited return.
The question is, given the real-life horror-show of recent years, how will Brooker and Jones pivot to handle a world that’s felt pretty damn dystopic for a while now? And – after bagging Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anthony Mackie, Miley Cyrus and Andrew Scott for the last run – which stars will be lined up to appear this time? Maybe we could be in for a run of episodes with a little more of a feelgood approach – sign us up for a whole batch of San Juniperos, please.