Black Mirror season 7 is here, folks! The dark anthology series has returned for six new episodes, including the show's first-ever sequel episode, "USS Callister: Into Infinity," which continues the saga of the characters first introduced in the season 4 episode "USS Callister."
That original episode remains one of the standout entries of the entire series. It follows shy programmer Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), who steals DNA from his coworkers and codes their consciousness into his very own, idyllic video game. He essentially keeps them trapped inside a space-sci-fi universe very reminiscent of Star Trek, where he is in charge. The installment won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.
For a few years, fans have been pleading for a follow-up episode. While the original ended with something of a definitive conclusion, there remained plenty of space for more adventures. I mean, we are introduced to the voice of Gamer691 (voiced by Aaron Paul) in the final moments. In season 7, our wish has been granted, thanks to "Into Infinity." The episode marks the return of Milioti (Nanette Cole), Jimmi Simpson (Walton), Billy Magnussen (Valdack), Milanka Brooks (Elena, who somehow has her blue alien skin again?), Osy Ikhile (Nate), and Paul G. Raymond (Dudani), who are now exploring cyberspace without Robert Daly keeping a leash on them.
Getting to this point was a long and twisty road. At one point, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker was considering making this sequel episode a whole limited spinoff series, or even a feature film. “Of all the stories we’ve done this one ended as though we were setting it up for the sequel,” Brooker told Deadline. “It went through various guises but in the end we made it feature length within the season. It took so long getting it together—we had the pandemic, writers’ strike and then had to get everyone’s schedules lined up, and that was its own Rubik’s cube on a unicycle.”
The official synopsis for the sequel episode reads thus: “Robert Daly is dead, but now the crew of the USS Callister – led by Captain Nanette Cole – are stranded in an infinite virtual universe, fighting for survival against 30 million players.” Check out the trailer:
All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are now available to stream on Netflix.
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