Jon Hamm And Oona Chaplin Will Ruin Christmas In Superb U.K. Series Black Mirror
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If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching the absolutely mental British anthology series Black Mirror, you’re missing out on some of the best one-off storytelling since the days of Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone. While fans are still waiting for a proper third season, Black Mirror will take on the Christmas holiday for a 90-minute special episode, and they’re bringing in the always enjoyable Jon Hamm (Mad Men) to star, along with Spanish actress Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones) and British actor Rafe Spall (Prometheus). I guess I won’t be asking Santa for new socks this year.
The basic premise — if you want to call it that — behind Black Mirror is techno-phobia, with episodes serving as bizarre cautionary tales for how much we’ve been affected by the Internet, personal electronics, reality TV, memories, and more. The upcoming Christmas special, according to the Channel 4 press release, “may well be the most mind-bending episode yet,” as it will weave together three separate tales of Christmas-themed terror. Black Mirror‘s first two seasons only amount to six episodes, so it’s not so hard to believe creator Charlie Brooker has even more deranged storylines bouncing around his head.
Though details about the three segments haven’t been divulged yet, we do know that Hamm will be the thread connecting the three different segments. He’ll appear in each one, “binding them together into a suitably unsettling whole.” I’ll believe that. The sky really is the limit when it comes to the subject matter this series could take on. Maybe Santa’s sleigh is really just a deadly drone. Or maybe a child gets a malfunctioning A.I. robot as a present. Or maybe someone invents a device that can actually bring the Ghost of Christmas Future into existence. I could go on.
Hamm says he’s “beyond thrilled” to be a part of this anthology series. “Its dark humor and intelligent observation of our society and values hooked me deeply as a viewer,” the actor said, “and I’m honored that Charlie and the rest of the creative team have asked me to participate in wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.”
To get a feel for the disquiet that Black Mirror episodes provoke, check out one of Channel 4’s promos for the show.
This will be Hamm’s most recent team-up with a British series, as he currently stars in the period comedy drama A Young Doctor’s Notebook with Daniel Radcliffe. His latest feature, Million Dollar Arm, hits DVD next week. Chaplin has most recently starred in the British war miniseries The Crimson Field, while Spall will soon be seen as John Hancock in the miniseries Sons of Liberty.
One of Black Mirror‘s episodes, “The Entire History of You,” was optioned to become a Warner Bros. feature by Robert Downey, Jr. and his Team Downey production company. That sounds like another Christmas present we can’t wait to unwrap. Expect the Black Mirror Christmas special, which starts filming this week, to air at some point in December.
