It started with a cryptic tweet from the official Black Mirror account and then Variety verified what most believed the tweet to mean. Black Mirror is going to return with a new season on October 21st with 12 new episodes. If you haven’t seen Black Mirror yet then stop reading and get on Netflix and start binging the series.
Black Mirror is an anthology series that is the successor to the Twilight Zone mantle. The series is only two seasons long that contain 3 episodes each plus a Christmas special so its an easy weekend binge which you should start like right now. Each episode tells a standalone story that deals with how technology can change and warp individual lives and society as a whole. From an episode that shows a dystopian society where you’re either a human turbine or a contestant on a reality show that chews you up and spits you out alive, to a mans decent into madness from becoming obsessed with a tech implant. The christmas special kind of ties all the plot threads to reveal a series wide twist that the stories you watched are actually connected in some way or another.
The return of Black Mirror with 12 episodes is a welcome change that I await with a little trepidation. The first two seasons and christmas special are an excellent example of less is more. The short format keeps the series tight and very focused plot wise. There are no such things as filler episodes in a 3 episode run and the detail put into each serves to keep them new and distinct but helps maintain the same tone throughout the series. Hopefully that will stay in play with a 12 episode run. October 21st can’t get here soon enough.