Black Mirror’s season 7: beam me up, Brooker (trailer).
Black Mirror, the TV series that gleefully reminds us our smartphones are secretly plotting our demise and social media algorithms know us better than our own mothers. Well, good news, dystopia fans – season 7 is on its way, and it promises to get your paranoia dialled up to maximum overdrive.
This time around, showrunner Charlie Brooker has promised a return to “OG Black Mirror” – which is industry speak for “the episodes that made you fear your toaster might one day blackmail you.” After season 6’s foray into slightly different territory, Brooker’s latest batch of twisted tech tales will apparently go back to the show’s sci-fi roots. Expect sinister devices, ethical dilemmas, and yet another reason to uninstall TikTok.
The headline grabber this season is a direct sequel to the Emmy-winning episode USS Callister, the Star Trek-inspired nightmare that had fans warping into existential dread. The sequel picks up where the original left off – with Jesse Plemons’ nefarious coder Robert Daly trapped in his own digital hellscape and his surviving victims hurtling through cyberspace aboard the titular USS Callister. Cristin Milioti returns as the quick-witted Nanette Cole, alongside her pixelated shipmates Jimmi Simpson, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile and Billy Magnussen. Rumour has it Daly may be gone, but the crew’s problems are just beginning – possibly involving evil AI, cosmic crises or the unspeakable horror of buffering at 99%.
Brooker has teased that the new season’s six episodes will range from “deeply unpleasant” to “quite funny” – which sounds like the range of emotions we all experienced during lockdown. Two episodes are essentially feature-length films, ensuring you’ll have plenty of time to wonder if your smart speaker is judging your life choices.
The season boasts a stellar cast worthy of a Netflix algorithm going on a binge. Expect to see Awkwafina, Peter Capaldi, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Harriet Walter and Paul Giamatti – plus a cavalcade of rising stars like Ben Bailey Smith and Michael Workéyè. Frankly, if Brooker had crammed any more talent in, the cast list would have required its own end credits sequence.
As always, Black Mirror promises to be a twisted funhouse mirror held up to our worst technological nightmares. Will it make you unplug your devices, move to a remote island and communicate solely via carrier pigeon? Possibly. Will you binge it all in one sitting anyway? Absolutely.
Black Mirror season 7 hits Netflix on 10th April 2025. Brace yourselves – the future’s calling, and it’s probably got your search history on speed dial.
