The British anthology series Black Mirror has captivated fans since it launched in 2011. Created by Charlie Brooker, the sci-fi, high-tech-charged, The Twilight Zone-like anthology series moved to Netflix after its first two series when four more were released in 2016, 2017, 2019, and, after a long wait, 2023. There was also the 2014 “White Christmas” special starring Jon Hamm and the interactive movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Each season offers unique, standalone stories that run the gamut, serving as cautionary tales about technology taken too far.
Approximately two years have passed since the sixth season ended and delivered a collection of episodes, among them the exceptional “Beyond the Sea” episode featuring Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett as astronauts swapping bodies with Earth replicas while in space. Now, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the seventh season, which is expected to bring an abundance of excitement and surprises.
When Will Season 7 Be Released and How Many Episodes?
Season 7 of Black Mirror is scheduled to premiere on April 10, 2025. There will be six episodes and, as with other seasons, each one will be compartmentalized with its own story, true to the nature of the show’s anthology format. Two of the six episodes will be feature-length, serving more like movies than TV episodes. All six episodes will be available to stream at once.
What to Expect from ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7
Brooker said during Netflix’s annual Geeked Week festival in September 2024 that the season will be experimental but will also return to the original luster that fans initially loved. The later seasons have gone more for horror and shock value, while the earlier seasons were mind-bendingly disturbing, even emotional. Brooker says there will continue to be a “mix of genres and styles” and he adds that “some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional.”
Brooker also promises that this season will feature stories and/or concepts that have never been done before, which is par for the course with Black Mirror. When the series premiered and fans started watching, there were many “WTF” moments as viewers tried to unpack what they were seeing on screen. In many cases, the true meaning or point of the episode wasn’t evident until the very end, leaving viewers to digest and wrap their heads around it after the fact.
‘USS Callister’ Is Coming Back
One of the most anticipated announcements about Black Mirror season 7 is that one of the six episodes will be a sequel to the USS Callister episode, the first time the series has ever returned to an older story. Fans may recall that Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti starred in this episode about Captain Robert Daly (Plemons), a reclusive programmer at a video game company. He created a mod of his own game whereby he is the dominant, outspoken captain who forces the sentient clones of his employees to play in the VR world after hours, bending to his will and treating them horribly in a way he never would (or could) in the real world. They eventually revolt, led by new programmer Nanette Cole (Milioti) and take him down, returning to the real world and the un-modded version of the game.
But they decide to continue the adventure to see what’s out there, now that they are doing so of their own free will. The episode ends, however, with someone named Gamer691 interacting with Nanette, annoyed that they are on his path and threatening to obliterate them.
What makes this moment so exciting is that the player is portrayed by Aaron Paul, who appears in a later season and episode of the series. As Cliff, an astronaut stuck in space in “Beyond the Sea,” it would make sense that he’s the same person, playing to pass the time. As fans of that Season 6 episode know, things did not end well for Cliff. Not only was he still in space, he was no longer on good terms with his partner there and had nothing left to go home to.
While Paul is not confirmed to be joining the cast, Milioti will be returning alongside Jimmi Simpson, Osy Ikhile, Billy Magnussen, and Milanka Brooks, all of whom appeared in the original “USS Callister” episode. Plemons is not confirmed to be returning, though his character was seemingly dead, stuck in a permanent version of his game by the end.
Brooker typically ends each episode by killing off all the characters, but this time he decided to keep some of them alive because he is evolving and growing as a person.
‘Bandersnatch’ Will Be Revisited
Additionally, it has been confirmed that characters from the interactive movie Bandersnatch will also be re-appearing in some capacity. The interactive movie ended in numerous ways, depending on which choose-your-own-adventure-like path viewers took. It’s possible these characters could also be linked to the “USS Callister” episode, since that movie was about a young programmer working on adopting a fantasy gamebook into a video game.
Set in 1984, Bandersnatch counted Fionn Whitehead, Asim Chaudhry, Will Poulter, Craig Parkinson, and Alice Lowe among its cast. Thus far, Chaudhry and Poulter are both confirmed to be reprising their roles, though it’s unclear what the new story will be.
How these worlds from different episodes connect will make the entire season exciting. Little links are being drawn between so many episodes, so it’s easy to see how many could converge and the show could drop plenty of clever Easter Eggs for die-hard fans to pick up on. Already, the show’s official page has begun to drop clever teasers, including one of binary code that translates to “you are not ready.”
What New Cast Members Are Joining?
Alongside the return of Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Osy Ikhile, Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, Asim Chaudhry, and Will Poulter, there are many new names joining the cast for these six new episodes.
- Awkwafina
- Peter Capaldi
- Emma Corrin
- Patty Ferran
- Paul Giamatti
- Lewis Briggen
- Rashida Jones
- Siena Kelly
- Rosy McEwen
- Chris O’Dowd
- Issa Rae
- Paul G. Raymond
- Tracee Ellis Ross
- Harriet Walter
- Michele Austin
- Ben Bailey Smith
- Josh Finan
- James Nelson Joyce
- Jay Simpson
- Michael Workéyè
Is There a Trailer?
Absolutely, there’s a nearly three-minute teaser offering a clear glimpse into the upcoming episodes. It hints at a mind-broadening device called a chip which reshapes your brain architecture and turns individuals into “recipients.” Additionally, there are discussions about something being referred to as merely a game, but it seems its scope extends far beyond that notion.
One concern some die-hard fans have about Black Mirror is that the switch to bigger-name actors on the series along with the less tech-heavy tone has caused the show to lose its edge. Fans loved that the original seasons introduced a cast largely made up of unknown British actors. Of course, many of these actors have since gone on to become more well-known in North America, like Rory Kinnear, Daniel Kaluuya, Toby Kebbell, Jodie Whittaker, Domhnall Gleeson, Lenora Crichlow, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Letitia Wright. But they were first introduced to North American audiences in this show, creating a sense of realism since they weren’t recognizable faces.
Once Netflix picked up the series, the actor list started to include more familiar actors, like Anthony Mackie, Topher Grace, Miley Cyrus, Annie Murphy, Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, and Zazie Beetz. Some found this “Hollywood-ified” the show in a negative way. With that said, episodes like “Beyond the Sea” with Paul, Hartnett, and Mara and the special “White Christmas” with Jon Hamm have been positively received.
The good news is that Brooker is addressing this, describing the new episodes as being “a little bit OG Black Mirror,” noting that it’s “back to basics in many ways,” with all of them being sci-fi stories. “There’s definitely some horrifying things that occur,” he adds, “but maybe not in an overt horror movie way.”
That’s music to purist fans’ ears who want to see the Black Mirror they came to know and love 14 years ago. From the sounds of it, they will with the upcoming and highly anticipated seventh season.
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2025-03-15 17:09