Summary
There was a time every new season ofBlack Mirrorwas anxiously awaited because the show did something no other program could do. Not since the originalTwilight Zonedid a show offer up science-fiction stories that so impressively shined a light on the human condition. No other show has offered up science fiction stories of any kind since the remake ofThe Outer Limitsseries. The first few seasons ofBlack Mirrorare some truly great television.
Unfortunately, the last few installments ofBlack Mirrorsimply don’t stand out the way the first couple of season do. It’s easy to blame the show’s decline onbeing purchased by Netflix. There’s two sides to that coin. On the one hand, with the streaming giant behind the show, there’s an argument that the program no longer has to take some of the risks it did in the first few seasons. On the other hand, Netflix isn’t really a company that gets chintzy when it comes to taking risks. Plenty of its original programming is some of the most beloved shows out there. That begs the question. Has Black Mirror lost its edge, or are the expectations for the program simply unrealistic. Is this a situation where perhaps the show came out of nowhere and was immediately so well liked that it was also going to start falling short of expectations at some point?
Star-Studded Offerings Bring Double-Edged Swords
It’s not going out on a limb to say that the reputation ofBlack Mirrorthen andBlack Mirrornow has something to do with the fact that the series kicked off with some real bangers. The very first episode of the show, “National Anthem,” offered up a story about how the Prime Minister of Great Britain had to haverelations with an actual pig. And every time it looked like one of the world’s most powerful leaders was going to avoid doing it, the plot against the terrorists was foiled. It’s hard to follow up that plot. But one of the things that seems to stand out, other than that bonkers ending, is that the episode did not have any universally recognizable stars peppered throughout. The focus was on the story, rather than who was in the story.
That’s not to say that having stars in the show kill an episode. “Fifteen Million Merits,” one of the more popular episodes of the series, featuredBlack Pantheractor Daniel Kaluuya. While it was before he was a part of the MCU, he was still a recognizable face. So wasDownton Abbey’s Jessica Brown Findlay. Certainly most viewers knew who Rupert Everett was. Season 2 episode, “White Christmas” had Jon Hamm, fresh off hisMad Menstardom. And yet, that episode too was one of the best of the series.
2025
Creator
Charlie Brooker
But there is an argument to be made that the star power of the actors in the episodes has been made more important than offering a truly edgy story. The first episode of Season 6 best demonstrated this. “Joan is Awful” advertisedSchitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy front and center of its marketing.That episode also hadMichael Cera, Salma Hayek, Ayo Edebiri, Ben Barnes, Rob Delaney and others. It kicked off the lowest rated season (at least according to IMDB) that it’s ever had. Though, it’s also worth noting that not every episode had a star-studded cast. Clearly, having big names isn’t the only reason the show has struggled a bit.
Maybe Black Mirror Is Just Out Of Ground Breaking Ideas
One of the more popular arguments for why the quality ofBlack Mirrorhas gone down is that some of its episodes are simply too realistic. It’s hard to warn about the “dark side” of technology in a world where the “dark side” of technology ison full display every day.
Clearly, having big names isn’t the only reason the show has struggled a bit.
One of the best shows of the series, “Hated in the Nation”, embodies the idea that it’s hard to tell a story about how people need to watch out because being mean on social media will backfire, when that’s been proven time and time again in the real world. No, robotic bees haven’t come to kill anyone, but people have lost their jobs. They’ve been kicked out of school. They’ve seen relationships end. Being killed by drones doesn’t seem far-fetched or edgy. It just seems like the next logical step.
There’s also an argument to be made that sometimesthe show seems to be bored by its own source material. The final two episodes of Season 6, “Mazy Day” and “Demon 79,” were barely about technology. They hadfar more ties to the supernatural than science fiction. It felt likeBlack Mirrorhad lost its way. Here’s hoping that Season 7 can be a return to form. If it’s not, the show might not only prove it’s lost its edge, it might lose its viewership.
Black Mirror returns in 2025 but doesn’t have an official release date yet.
