Black Mirror season 7 will return to the show's roots

Next month, Netflix will release the seventh season of Black Mirror, its dystopian sci-fi anthology series from Charlie Brooker. Black Mirror has been running since 2011 and has carved out a strong niche for itself among viewers who crave cautionary Twilight Zone-esque tales which often revolve around technology gone wrong.

At least, that's what Black Mirror is usually like. But with its previously released sixth season, the show expanded into new territory by having several episodes focus on the supernatural instead of modern-day technology parables. This made for a bit of a mixed viewing experience, since werewolves and the like are not something fans normally associate with Black Mirror. But with season 7, the show is getting back to its roots.

"I do feel the show can constantly evolve – like the last season, we had episodes that went supernatural, it was horror. That was almost like a palate cleanser," Brooker told SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar+). "And then this season it's a bit more OG, they're all near-tech stories, or they're all sci-fi effectively, but the Black Mirror end of sci-fi. 'Callister' is very much the most overtly sci-fi we've ever gone."

"Callister" is a reference to this season's sequel to the "USS Callister" episode from season 4; it's the first time the show has ever done a true sequel to one of its installments. Inspired by Star Trek, that episode saw space officers aboard the titular starship realize they were digital clones trapped inside a simulation by a vindictive real life co-worker and revolt, taking over the ship. It starred Jesse Plemmons, Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Osy Ikhile, Milanka Brooks, and Billy Magnussen. Those main cast members are all expected to return, except for Plemmons, whose character was defeated at the end of the original episode.

Black Mirror season 7 will be more "grounded"

While Black Mirror has never had a truly bad season, its sixth was more divisive than most due to the wildly different nature of its episodes. The finale focused on someone who made a deal with a demon to kill a bunch of people in order to stave off the apocalypse, which was a far cry from the more incisive and topical episodes the show is known for. Brooker promised that season 7 will home in on what Black Mirror does best: serving up technological mindf**ks that leave a lasting mark on viewers.

"We've got other episodes this season which are what you might call more grounded, in a way the use of technology in everyday life fucking someone's world up, in a real world where there's athletes' foot. Hopefully it feels like it's so expansive and I can just keep it going," Brooker said.

I'm kind of hoping the mention of athletes' foot is just a metaphor, because I am not ready to have Black Mirror give me nightmares about bacterial infections. Best start mentally preparing now, I guess!

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 premiere on Netflix on April 10.