DYSTOPIAN DREAMLAND

For dystopian die-hards, this weekend is going to be spent in the dark, catching up on the long-awaited sixth season of Black Mirror.

Set to premiere on Netflix on June 15, the new season has been called “the most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected yet.”

“I can’t wait for people to binge their way through it all and hope they enjoy it – especially the bits they shouldn’t,” showrunner Charlie Brooker said, alongside the release of the teaser.

The teaser gives a glimpse of some of the new technology and social issues that will be explored in the upcoming season. In one scene, a woman is seen using a virtual reality headset to experience a different reality. In another, a group of people are seen being controlled by a computer programme.

The star-studded cast of the sixth season includes Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful), Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick), Salma Hayek (Frida), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Anjana Vasan (Spider-Man: Far From Home), Paapa Essiedu (Gangs of London) and Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs The World).

The science fiction anthology series that explores the dark side of modern technology has been praised for its thought-provoking episodes, which often deal with themes such as surveillance, addiction, and artificial intelligence.

The fifth season of Black Mirror premiered in 2019 and since then, the series’ renewal has been on ice due to Netflix’s disputes with the IP owner, Endemol Shine Group.

Those disputes seemingly came to a head upon the news that Annabel Jones and Charlie Brooker departed Endemol Shine Group to start their new company, and things went quiet on Black Mirror after that.

In July 2020, Netflix struck a ‘landmark deal’ with Brooker and Jones taking a controlling stake in the new company, Broke & Bones.

But as it pertains to Black Mirror, the licence remained at the old company, and any future season would require an agreement to either licence again for a new season or buy the rights outright.

Then came the news that the parent company had been bought out, and the series was back on track.

There are five confirmed episodes so far.

Joan is Awful, which is directed by Ally Pankiw is the first of these, tells the story of an average woman who is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life – in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek Pinault.

In Demon 79, directed by Toby Haynes and set in 1979’s Northern England, a meek sales assistant is told she must commit terrible acts to prevent disaster.

Mazey Day, directed by Uta Briesewitz, tells the tale of a troubled starlet who is dogged by invasive paparazzi while dealing with the consequences of a hit-and-run incident.

Beyond the Sea, directed by John Crowley, takes viewers to an alternative 1969, where two men on a perilous high-tech mission wrestle with the consequences of an unimaginable tragedy.

In Loch Henry, directed by Adam Jenkins and Sam Miller, a young couple travels to a sleepy Scottish town to start work on a genteel nature documentary, but find themselves drawn to a juicy local story involving shocking events of the past.