The 7 best sci-fi/fantasy TV episodes of 2023
By Dan Selcke
3. Black Mirror, "Joan is Awful" (Netflix)
Black Mirror is an sci-fi anthology show about the dangers of emerging technology, and no emergying technology was on people's minds in 2023 like generative AI. How will this new field change industries? Will writers and artists get replaced by machines? Is privacy possible in a world collect data about us without us realizing it?
The first episode of Black Mirror season 6, "Joan Is Awful," zeroed in on some of these concerns. It revolves around Joan (Annie Murphy), a somewhat messy businesswoman whose life becomes the subject of a streaming drama created on the fly by advanced computers. The TV show does not depict Joan in a favorable light, but she can't do anything about it because she signed the clickwrap agreement with the streaming service and has given the world access to her life through her various devices. The episode chronicles her attempts to take back some level of control over her own reputation.
"Joan is Awful" is mostly here to make us laugh, but it touches on some very trenchant, clear-and-present fears about the role of AI in our society; a lot of its success can be chalked up to good timing, especially since it aired during a time when Hollywood actors were on strike in part out of fear of AI taking their jobs. It's the best episode of Black Mirror to come out in a while, and certainly the best of the sixth season. If a couple years it can be one we watch again to see if any of its predictions ring true.