Good news, dystopia fans! Black Mirror, the hit sci-fi-horror-drama series from Charlie Brooker, is returning to Netflix this June - with a teaser drop and logline today promising that the new season is the most "unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected yet.”
For those unfamiliar with the anthology series (and if you're not, we HIGHLY suggest a binge watch on your weekend), Black Mirror is based on The Twilight Zone and explores a 'twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.'
Past seasons have featured huge names in leading roles (such as Bryce Dallas Howard, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Hamm and many more), and season 6 is no different. Just get a load of this roster:
Aaron Paul, Anjana Vasan, Annie Murphy, Auden Thornton, Ben Barnes, Clara Rugaard, Daniel Portman, Danny Ramirez, Himesh Patel, John Hannah, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Michael Cera, Monica Dolan, Myha’la Herrold, Paapa Essiedu, Rob Delaney, Rory Culkin, Salma Hayek Pinault, Samuel Blenkin, Zazie Beetz.
Now that's what we call an ensemble cast. Along with the teaser image of Aaron Paul above, here's some of Zazie Beetz, Auden Thornton, Josh Hartnett, Paapa Essiedu and Salma Hayek that Netflix have debuted today:
Back in May, Variety revealed that a new season of Black Mirror was on route, with the additional exciting news that "a source close to the production told Variety at the time that the latest season is even more cinematic in scope, with each instalment being treated as an individual film."
Brooker, who’s credited with creating and writing the sixth season, has also hinted towards the new set of episodes being different to the usual type of stories we've come to expect. Speaking with Tudum.com, Brooker had this to say:
“I’ve always felt that Black Mirror should feature stories that are entirely distinct from one another, and keep surprising people (and myself) or else what’s the point? [...] It should be a series that can’t be easily defined, and can keep reinventing itself. So partly as a challenge, and partly to keep things fresh for both me and the viewer, I began this season by deliberately upending some of my own core assumptions about what to expect. Consequently, this time, alongside some of the more familiar Black Mirror tropes we’ve also got a few new elements, including some I’ve previously sworn blind the show would never do, to stretch the parameters of what ‘a Black Mirror episode’ even is.”
The teaser certainly seems very cinematic in scope which is in line with the continual evolution of the show, from somewhat humble beginnings back in 2011 on the UK's Channel 4, to securing a big-budget deal Stateside with Netflix in 2014. While the ongoing theme of technology, politics and modern society are prevalent throughout all seasons, the tone of each episode can differ wildly, from the emotional highs of love story San Junipero to the devastatingly bleak satire of White Bear. For the new season, Brooker says the stories are all “still tonally Black Mirror through-and-through” but that we'll see “crazy swings and more variety” (and we don't doubt him for a hot second.)
Directors for the upcoming season have yet to be announced, but considering past instalments have showcased work from directorial talents such as Jodie Foster, James Watkins and Joe Wright, our hopes are high. On the production side, Variety tells us that Season 6 will add Ms. Marvel showrunner Bisha K. Ali, who is among the show’s executive producers, alongside Brooker, long-time producing partner Annabel Jones and Jessica Rhoades. Season 6 will be the first Black Mirror season to be produced by Brooker and Jones’ new production company Broke & Bones.
So without further ado, here's the Black Mirror Season 6 teaser which features spaceships, hammer-wielding cheerleaders and perhaps the most terrifying horror of all: dial-up Internet: