Netflix renews Black Mirror for season 6

Photo: Black Mirror Season 5 production still / Netflix
Photo: Black Mirror Season 5 production still / Netflix

Variety reports that a new season of the anthology series Black Mirror is in the works at Netflix.

Black Mirror is one of the platform’s more unique shows. Each episode functions as its own standalone story, typically featuring a star-studded cast. Though season 5 only consisted of three episodes, they were elevated by amazing performances from Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topher Grace, Andrew Scott and Miley Cyrus. Black Mirror is the closest thing to a modern Twilight Zone we have, and it’s exciting that we’ll be getting more episodes.

According to Variety’s sources, season 6 is believed to contain more episodes than the show’s fifth season. Each is being treated almost like a movie, with a cinematic scope and high production values. No big shocker there; that was pretty much the case for season 5 as well. Given the massive budgets that Netflix has been throwing at some of its sci-fi and fantasy heavyweight series, it’s easy to imagine that they’ll be pulling out all the stops for Black Mirror.

Photo: Black Mirror Season 5 production still / Netflix
Photo: Black Mirror Season 5 production still / Netflix

Black Mirror rights dispute has seemingly been settled

Black Mirror has been embroiled in a rights dilemma these past few years, which has no doubt contributed to its slow renewal. Season 5 premiered back in 2019, before series creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones left their previous production company House of Tomorrow, which operated under the umbrella of Endemol Shine Group. Endemol retained rights to Black Mirror during the transition, but it appears that Netflix has been able to reach a deal to continue the series.

In addition to the rights dispute, there was also a question about whether there would even be an audience for such a dark show at the moment, given the past few years. Shortly after the beginning of the pandemic, Brooker revealed that he was not actively developing more Black Mirror. “At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on one of those. I’m sort of keen to revisit my comic skill set, so I’ve been writing scripts aimed at making myself laugh.”

Things have apparently changed since then, as Black Mirror season 6 is officially happening. As of this writing, casting is underway.

There’s no release date yet for series 6 of Black Mirror, but if you need a good reminder of how messed up and gripping the show is, all five previous seasons are available on Netflix.

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