BLACK MIRROR
Charlie Brooker gives us a sneak peek at the new series. Then polishes his Emmy.
Honestly, you wait 12 years for a new Star Trek TV show, then three arrive at once. Well, sort of. First came Discovery and Seth MacFarlane’s spoofy The Orville. Now, anthology show Black Mirror is paying homage with an episode called “USS Callister”. Set on the titular vessel, it features a crew in familiar-looking retro uniforms.
It is, creator Charlie Brooker tells Red Alert, the most comedic Black Mirror episode so far – partly because the show’s first Netflix run was so well-received.
“We’ve managed to expand what the show is,” Brooker says. “That’s why we feel confident enough to go in and do quite an overtly comic one.”
However, as Brooker’s co-producer Annabel Jones stresses, you should still expect a bleak Black Mirror twist: “The ideas behind it are quite dark. So that DNA is still there – it’s just in the treatment.”
Other episodes in this latest six-episode run also explore new territory for the show. Take “Arkangel”, for example, directed by one Jodie Foster.
“That’s got a very different feel,” Brooker says, “like an indie movie. It’s near-future social realism, put it that way. Also it’s a parenting parable, which is a topic we haven’t done before. It’s about a woman raising a child, and the story covers about 15 years.”
Another big name involved this year is director John Hillcoat (The Road). He’s helmed an episode entitled “Crocodile”.
“Film noir is a good way to put it for that one,” Brooker says – though he also has another, more intriguing description... “I like to think of it as Columbo!” “It’s not Columbo!” protests Jones. “It’s not… but also once you see it you’ll go, ‘Oh, I get what he meant! It is, but it totally isn’t, accidental Columbo!”
Black Mirror season four starts streaming on Netflix later this year. Read more about the show next issue.