Black Mirror Season 6: When Will Netflix Bring Back This Series?
Black Mirror season 6 has been confirmed by Netflix and the dystopian series will return for another run of episodes.
Given the high praise for the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror, it would be hard to see the streaming giant not bringing the series back for at least one more run. The first five seasons had been met with much critical aplomb and fanfare even considering the Netflix release schedule on those first five seasons was scattered at best. So, will we get Black Mirror season 6?
Netflix Is Developing Black Mirror Season 6
It’s been almost four years since the last season of Black Mirror. The time away from the series had many wondering if we would ever actually see the show again, in any form. There had been general radio silence on that front for quite a while. But that changed back in July 2022 when Netflix let on that they had greenlit another set of episodes, essentially confirming a Black Mirror Season 6.
This was welcome news for folks who don’t mind staring into a bleak tech future while having their general anxiety triple (or more) when seeing how things might turn out in our world. But the show is on its way back on the streamer and it looks like they’ve lined up a solid cast with even more episodes.
Black Mirror Season 6 Will Have More Episodes Than Season 5
The first two Black Mirror seasons had three episodes each with the third and fourth seasons ramping up to six each. But that was scaled back some in the fifth season with Netflix only putting out three total. Admittedly, they were a bit bigger in scope, so the screentime evened out some. But fans of the series did feel like it fell a bit short.
That shouldn’t be the case for Black Mirror Season 6 with reports that series will go back to a six-episode format. How it exactly shakes out with run-time remains to be seen.
As we know, Black Mirror has operated as a thematic show with individual episodes rather than a throughline narrative structure. But that could also change some for season 6 with Variety reporting back in May 2022 that the new season could operate more like an “individual film”. It’s unclear what exactly that means for the show though it could point to, at minimum, a more cohesive connection between individual episodes.
Zazie Beetz, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, And Others Will Join The Cast
Black Mirror has been known for a lot of things through its first five seasons (mostly scaring us to death about the future) but its impressive cast ranks pretty high on the list. The show has been able to attract some of Hollywood’s best talents to individual episodes and that looks like it will, once again, be the case for Black Mirror season 6.
The Hollywood Reporter had it that some big names will be joining things this time around. Among them will be Deadpool’s Zazie Beetz, Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, and Josh Hartnett who will each lead episodes.
But there are plenty of others as well. Paapa Essiedu is on board as is Kate Mara. Plus, Top Gun: Mavericks’ Danny Ramirez is in the mix. And they’ve also announced Clara Rugaard, Auden Thornton and Anjana Vasan.
There Is No Official Release Date For Black Mirror Season 6
While we know that Black Mirror season 6 is in the works from Netflix, we don’t know what the exact release date is for this next run of episodes. The streamer has often been relatively quiet on details like this until everything is totally confirmed, a bit different than some other outlets.
And given the nature of this type of production, as well as the one-off piece of how the show is structured, it likely needed a longer timeline than most other series. When it’s all different stories and completely different casts, that’s just the way it is.
We will be updating this when we find out the official release date for Black Mirror season 6.
The First Five Seasons Were Modeled After The Twilight Zone
Black Mirror is a television anthology series much in the vein of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. It’s a British dystopian series that has its roots in science fiction, but in many ways can also be called horror. Black Mirror season 6 will continue in that vein.
Writer Charlie Brooker created Black Mirror with an eye on a different, but similar, sort of Twilight Zone. Each episode is a stand-alone (like The Twilight Zone) and each episode puts the cast in situations that are at once familiar but soon take a turn toward the dark (just like The Twilight Zone).
The difference between the two, besides the obvious, is that Black Mirror leans more toward modern society and its new technology and how their unanticipated consequences can affect lives. Many of the themes are dark and satirical but there have been Black Mirror episodes that have had a touch of whimsy sprinkled in.
Brooker explained the series’ content and structure to The Guardian as “each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they’re all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes’ time if we’re clumsy.”
He also chimed in, explaining what the title, Black Mirror, means to him. “If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The ‘black mirror’ of the title is the one you’ll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone.”
It seems his approach has a following. Fans picked up early on the series and after its first two seasons, so did Netflix. Since then, Netflix has been releasing seasons on a not-so-regular basis. While the series has only five seasons, those five have been seen in six separate years. The first two came out in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The remainder, after being picked up by Netflix, showed in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019. With 5 done now the road is clear for Black Mirror season 6.
