Ever since Charlie Brooker forged an alliance with Netflix in the name of Black Mirror three years ago, the whip-smart screenwriter and presenter has tackled dating apps, surveillance, robotic dogs and a Star Trek-themed adventure by the name of USS Callister.
But it seems Brooker and his team still have more stories to tell, as a fifth season of Black Mirror has officially booted online, though there’s currently no mention of a premiere date and/or episode count as yet.
All we have is a cryptic teaser that debuted via Twitter alongside the caption, “Be Right Back,” which is presumably a callback to the premiere of Black Mirror season 2, which had Hayley Atwell and Domnhall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) experience a warped new form of grief that was so tragically aided (and indeed enhanced) by technology. Such is the Black Mirror way.
For those of you who have seen season 4’s “Black Museum,” a truly meta, mind-melting episode that includes nods to practically every episode in the series, this cryptic teaser will be somewhat familiar. Just don’t go in expecting any firm clues about the tone and direction of Black Mirror season 5.
Wordplay aside, the future is indeed bright for Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series, which received a new lease of life when Netflix bought the rights back in 2015. And so, what followed was two relatively strong six-episode installments which, if nothing else, all but confirms that the show’s fifth season will adhere to the same episode count.
Meanwhile, our own thoughts on Black Mirror season 4 can be summarized as so:
You don’t need to be an iPhone fundi or an Xbox nerd to let Black Mirror’s alchemy wash over you. Season 4 is a strong showing all around, sporting one of the best episodes of the entire series (USS Callister).
Black Mirror season 5 is officially on the way, and TV’s darkest anthology series continues.
