Black Mirror
Black Mirror is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are speculative fiction, set in near-future dystopias containing sci-fi technology. The series is inspired by The Twilight Zone and uses the themes of technology and media to comment on contemporary social issues. Most episodes are written by Brooker with involvement by the executive producer Annabel Jones.
There are 33 episodes in seven series and one special, in addition to the interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The first two series aired on the British network Channel 4 in 2011 and 2013, as did the 2014 special "White Christmas". The programme then moved to Netflix, where five further series aired in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2025. An eighth series is in development. Two related webisode series were produced by Netflix, and a companion book to the first four series, Inside Black Mirror, was published in 2018. Soundtracks to many episodes have been released as albums.
Black Mirror is considered by some reviewers to be one of the best television series of the 2010s, while some critics have found the formulaic morality themes of the series obvious or have cited declining quality. The programme won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie three times consecutively for "San Junipero", "USS Callister" and Bandersnatch. Black Mirror, along with American Horror Story and Inside No. 9, has been credited with reviving the anthology television format and a number of episodes have been deemed prescient by the media.
Premise and production
Development and writing
The series was created by Brooker, who was previously known as a comedy writer. He wrote video game reviews for PC Zone in the late 1990s and began writing television reviews for The Guardian and working in television in the 2000s. Brooker had completed production of Dead Set, a zombie-based drama series, and while working on Newswipe and other programmes, decided to make an anthology drama series. It was modelled in the style of The Twilight Zone, Tales of the Unexpected and Hammer House of Horror. The title was inspired by the Arcade Fire song of the same name, with Booker using it to refer to the empty screen of an electronic device once it is turned off.Brooker recognised that Rod Serling had based The Twilight Zone on contemporary issues, often controversial ones such as racism, but placed them in fictional settings to get around television censors at the time. Brooker realised he could comment similarly on modern issues, specifically focusing on technology, a topic he explored in producing the series How TV Ruined Your Life. He aimed to explore "the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time".
Brooker wanted to keep the anthology approach, using new stories, settings, characters, and actors for each episode, as he felt this was a key element of enjoying series like The Twilight Zone. This approach would allow Black Mirror to contrast with current dramas and serials that had a standard recurring cast. According to Brooker, the production team considered giving the series a linking theme or presenter, but ultimately decided not to.
Most episodes are credited solely to Brooker. Many originate with him talking to the executive producer Annabel Jones or others about a "what-if idea", and considering if it could be the consequence of some new technology. Brooker said that like his previous comedy writing, the premise is a "worst case scenario compounded"; the ideas often make him laugh. Episodes generally have only one aspect at a time that requires suspension of disbelief, and characters' actions are designed to feel authentic even if their predicaments are unusual. Brooker avoided reacting to news events or topical subjects, as there was no guarantee of their continued relevance by the release date.
In the first two series, Brooker would plan less and write the script as he went along, which led to more dropped subplots and several iterations of rewriting "White Bear" in particular. He would write with advertisement breaks in mind, as motivation to reach the next break, and so that he could insert some cliffhanger to make the audience return. After the first two series, Brooker wrote a full outline preceding each first draft, finding that picturing an ending made the process easier even if the ending later changed. The outline could vary substantially in length, from two to twenty-five pages.
"San Junipero" was the first episode written for Netflix and came from a conscious decision to experiment with the tone of a Black Mirror episode. Following this, episodes became more tonally diverse. Brooker would send a brief treatment to Netflix and receive feedback before beginning the first draft. He wrote some material while standing up, as the slight discomfort discouraged time-wasting; he said that the first draft, the "vomit draft", was always terrible, but had to be written. He tried to picture the finished episode while writing and sometimes ran while listening to music as a source of inspiration. Brooker said that emotional speeches were easier to write, while sequences with many parts were harder. Feedback that came from Jones and a director or cast member could have a large influence on the script. Additionally, Brooker and Jones were involved in all aspects of production process, observing the filming and participating in the editing room where possible. They pointed out logical inconsistencies and worked on the details of technological user interfaces. Brooker said that the final edit could allow aspects that were not working to be fixed, or for introduction of overlooked ideas.
The episode "The Entire History of You" was written by Jesse Armstrong. William Bridges is co-credited on both "Shut Up and Dance" and "USS Callister" and Brooker's wife Konnie Huq received a co-credit on "Fifteen Million Merits". For these episodes, Brooker did not write in the same room as his colleagues. One person would write the first draft and they would then iterate between feedback and re-writing. On "Nosedive", Michael Schur wrote the first half of the script and Rashida Jones wrote the second half, based on ideas and a story outline from Brooker. "Demon 79" was co-written by Brooker and Bisha K. Ali.
Genre and themes
As Black Mirror is an anthology series, each episode is standalone and can be watched in any order, although some episodes may contain references and easter eggs to previous episodes. The programme is an instance of speculative fiction within science fiction: the majority of episodes are set in dystopian near-futures with novel technologies that exaggerate a trait from contemporary culture, often the internet. An example is "Crocodile", where the Recaller device used to view a person's memories is the main difference from the modern world. Many such technologies involve altering the human body or consciousness, with little in-universe concern for the morality of these actions. They provide convenience or freedom to the user, but exacerbate problematic personality traits. Adrian Martin of Screen wrote that many episodes depict "basic human emotions and desires" that "intersect with, and get twisted by, a technological system that invariably spins out of control and into catastrophe". Retrofuturistic designs highlight the theme of each episode, often showing a lack of comfort, emotional connection or personalisation; the settings are generally patriarchal and capitalist. Recurring themes throughout Black Mirror include data privacy and surveillance, virtual reality, individualism and consumerism. Many episodes have plot twists.However, individual episodes explore varying genres. Crime fiction episodes include the police procedurals "Hated in the Nation" and "Smithereens" and the Nordic noir "Crocodile". Horror and psychological horror are features of "Black Museum" and "Playtest", respectively. The first episode, "The National Anthem", contains black comedy and political satire. Some episodes employ features of lighter-hearted genres, such as romance in "San Junipero" and "Striking Vipers", romantic comedy in "Hang the DJ", or space opera in "USS Callister". Other genres include drama, psychological thriller, post-apocalyptic fiction, and war film.
Black Mirror can be seen to demonstrate a negative view of unending pursuit of scientific and technological advancement. Juliana Lopes of Via Panorâmica argued that the dystopian settings resemble the French Marxist Guy Debord's concept of the spectacle, wherein mass media create alienation and an unattainable utopia for individuals to pursue. For instance, in "Nosedive", the protagonist Lacie strives for a utopian life through superficiality and performativity, in a society where social media success contributes to high socioeconomic status. Academics writing in Quarterly Review of Film and Video found that Black Mirror episodes fall into a genre of "mind-game films", wherein protagonists are disoriented and narratives are non-linear or fragmented. Films in this genre include Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and these works often show the unreliability of the state, technology or family.
Some critics believed that episodes produced under Channel 4 had a more British tone or shared aesthetic qualities not found in later series. In contrast, Netflix episodes including "Nosedive", "San Junipero", "USS Callister" and "Hang the DJ" evidence pastel aesthetics, use of 1980s or 1990s nostalgia and lighter-hearted tones than Channel 4 episodes. The frequency of happy endings and positive uses of technology increase in later series. With the use of a werewolf in "Mazey Day" and a demon in "Demon 79", the sixth series introduced supernatural horror elements to Black Mirror, and reduced the role of technology.