Yahoo News Black Mirror season 4: everything you need to know
Black Mirror fans had plenty to celebrate in 2017, thanks to the show's astonishing Emmys success. Writer/creator Charlie Brooker picked up two prizes – Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing – for Black Mirror season three's 'San Junipero' episode.
With a new season coming to Netflix before the end of the year, which could potentially be packed with new San Juniperos, here's everything you need to know about Black Mirror Season 4.
Black Mirror season 4 trailer: where can I see it?
Right here! A mysterious trailer launched in August and immediately created plenty of buzz – thanks to six short montages which revealed the six episode titles for season 4.
It's short but sinister, and ends on the promise that the series is coming soon. But what will we get when it does return?
Black Mirror season 4 episodes: what are they called?
The episodes titles - in the order they were originally announced - are 'Crocodile', 'Arkangel', 'Hang The DJ', 'USS Callister', 'Metalhead', and 'Black Museum'.
However, in two weeks before season 4 dropped on Netflix, Charlie Brooker confirmed the running order as it'll stand on Netflix (though of course, it's an anthoogy, so you can really watch them in any order).
1. USS Callister
2. Arkangel
3. Crocodile
4. Hang the DJ
5. Metalhead
6. Black Museum
'Crocodile', 'Arkangel' and 'Hang The DJ' all look like fairly typical Black Mirror episodes, as does 'Black Museum'.
But 'USS Callister' and 'Metalhead' are a little more intriguing, mainly because one appears to be a straight-up sci-fi fantasy and the other looks like it's shot entirely in black and white.
But what could they be about?
Black Mirror season 4 plots: What are they about?
This is where it starts to get really interesting.
Brooker's been talking quite a bit about his plans for this season, promising that it'll be weirder than ever.
"I remember when we started doing season three, which was the first Netflix season, I said to myself that people always think we're predicting the future and that we weren't this time around," Brooker said. "I felt that it was so far-fetched."
Brooker has also teased an exploration of "mighty different" genres to what we've seen before, as well as some "length variance".
Related: 12 Black Mirror Easter eggs that prove Charlie Brooker's anthology is all set in one universe
Intriguingly, Brooker's talked about doing more to tie the Black Mirror universe together. "I'm doing something at the moment that could, depending on whether it makes it to the final version, tie a few threads."
And that could even come in the form of sequels to previous episodes.
"We've had ideas for sequels as well, which is something we haven't entirely explored," Brooker said. "I wouldn't be averse to it. We've got a couple ideas in mind, but we're sort of thinking about, practically, how we could do that and when the right time to do that would be.
"So, potentially. But then in a Darwinian way, a new idea pops up and that wins the knife fight for the slot."
This might seem like a bold move, but Black Mirror has always been set in an interconnected universe, without us even realising it.
One thing we do know is that final episode 'Black Museum' is a portmanteau, similar to previous special 'White Christmas'.
We got that information from Penn Jillette – yes, the magician, who's contributed a story to the episode and gone into a surprising amount of detail about it.
"I was postulating a future where you could put a gizmo on your head and feel someone else's pain. So there would be doctors whose whole job it was to feel pain and say, 'His left arm is broken', [or], 'That's not actually appendicitis, that's a cancer thing'.
"They felt every pain. Like prizefighters and childbirth and child cancer. And this guy gets addicted to it and starts beating people to feel their pain. He also goes through S&M and all he wants to do is jack into Jesus on the cross. He wants to feel that pain. I wrote this story. It was the first story I wrote when I got a computer.
"When we did Penn and Teller's first book, we had short stories in it. I submitted this and the editor said, 'That's too dark'. I've been trying to find a place for this story, which I thought was really good. I tried to write a comic book and they said no. I pitched it as a movie and they said no. So I told Charlie Brooker all of this and he said, 'Oh, pain addict. That's good!'"
The series will be as varied as ever, with a mix of genres, including crime thriller, indie movie and the most overtly comic episode yet.
For many, 'San Junipero' was the standout episode of Black Mirror's third season... and indeed, of the show's entire run. So it's perhaps no surprise that the upcoming fourth season will be a little less bleak.
"This season, the writing of it started in July 2016, so there were episodes being written all through the American election... and everything was looking horrible," Brooker explained. "I genuinely thought, I don't know what state the world's going to be in by the time these [episodes] appear, and I don't know how much appetite there will be for nothing but bleak nihilism.
"If you're living in a dystopia, you don't necessarily want to look at another one. So I sort of thought, let's maybe not make them all [depressing]. Although, the thing is, you have to be aware that a lot of people tune in for that. So you still want to give them that."
Black Mirror season 4 cast: who's in it?
We've had loads of info on this, so we're going to take it episode by episode.
'Crocodile' stars Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Gower and Kiran Sonia Sawar. It's directed by John Hillcoat.
'Arkangel' stars Rosemarie Dewitt, Brenna Harding and Owen Teague. It's directed by Jodie Foster.
'Hang the DJ' stars Georgina Campbell, Joe Cole and George Blagden. It is directed by Tim Van Patten.
'USS Callister' stars Jesse Plemons, Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson and Michaela Coel. It's directed by Toby Haynes.
'Metalhead' stars Maxine Peake, Jake Davies and Clint Dyer. It's directed by David Slade.
'Black Museum' stars Douglas Hodge, Letitia Wright and Babs Olusanmokun. It's directed by Colm McCarthy.
Black Mirror season 4 airdate: when is it released?
Black Mirror season three aired in October last year, so you might've expected a similar broadcast date in 2017.
But proving that Black Mirror is never one to be predictable, Netflix finally confirmed early in December that season four will officially drop on December 29, making it the perfect binge-watch for that post-Christmas, pre-New Year lull we all find ourselves in.
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