‘Black Mirror’ Is “Weirdly Optimistic” About Social Media

Is anybody else a little worried when the team behind Black Mirror is excited about something?

Black Mirror, in case you have somehow missed the new British classic, can be described as the twenty-first century’s take on The Twilight Zone. It is an anthology series, which means each episode of Black Mirror is its own standalone story, but each episode builds on each other to show horrifying truths about our modern world.

The program was created by Charlie Brooker back in 2011 and has since garnered much praise for the dark satire, from earning a place on The A.V. Club’s Best of 2013 list and winning an International Emmy for Best TV Movie/Miniseries in 2012. The second season (or “series,” should you be across the Pond) aired in February of 2013, and Netflix ultimately ended up commissioning a third season that will be hitting televisions in October of this year.

The creators of Black Mirror recently had the opportunity to stop by Variety’s studios, where they discussed just how far modern life influences their work on the show.

Charlie Brooker had this to say:

“I’m quite optimistic, weirdly. When it comes to things like social media, I think it’s an incredible invention. It’s just that we as an animal aren’t yet adept to use this incredible new power we’ve been given. It’s like a new limb we’ve grown and we’re flailing around and knocking all the furniture over.”

The clumsiness and recklessness of humans is a recurring theme in the show, and Bryce Dallas Howard, who joined the Black Mirror cast for its newest and Netflix-iest season, noted her experience with her first exposure to these themes. Her reaction was more than a little familiar to the Black Mirror audience:

“I have a lot of nightmares of these kind of dystopian future scenarios that pretty exactly resemble Black Mirror. So I was a little nervous about it. Finally, when I did watch the first episode I was by myself in New Zealand and I watched one of the episodes and I was an absolute wreck afterwards.”

Along with Brooker, there is a dedicated team that aims to make Black Mirror so gripping. Annabel Jones (who previously worked with Brooker as far back as 2010) is the executive producer, and Owen Harris and Joe Wright are among the directors for the newest season.

 The third season of Black Mirror will premiere on October 21 on Netflix.
Ashley Dize: I've been a nerd since I was a child, but I like to think I'm getting better as it as I'm getting older. I earned a degree in English with a minor in Film Studies from the University of Georgia in 2017, and am using my love of writing and television to share the stories of what's happening in the television industry.
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