"Nothing is as it seems”: Why Black Mirror’s series 7 is the most “mind-expanding” watch yet

Black Mirror is officially returning for series 7 and, in true Charlie Brooker fashion, nothing is quite as it seems in the brand-new episodes. The latest instalment of the dystopian drama series brings us a fresh batch of twisty stories and it promises to be the most "mind-expanding" watch yet.

Here's everything we know so far about what we can expect from the exciting seventh series...

What is Black Mirror about?

The award-winning dystopian series first aired in 2011 and many of the episodes portray futures where technology has overwhelmed humanity in some way. In each, viewers experience an often disturbing alternative world which feels unsettlingly close to home. There have been six series so far, the first set in the UK and airing on Channel 4 before Black Mirror moved to Netflix and went global.

What will happen in Black Mirror series 7?

netflix

The new series will feature six episodes, two of which will be feature-length. Speaking about what to expect from new episodes, Charlie Brooker explained that while all of them feature sci-fi stories, viewers can "expect a mix of genres and styles."

"Some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional,” he said. “There’s definitely some horrifying things that occur, but maybe not in an overt horror-movie way. There’s definitely some disturbing content in it.”

Excitingly, the latest series will include a sequel to season 4's 'USS Callister' episode, which followed Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), a reclusive yet gifted programmer and co-founder of a popular multiplayer online game. It's the first time in Black Mirror history that a sequel has been made, and Charlie Brooker explained that this storyline had been in the works for years.

"There were various iterations it went through, various versions we wanted to do and were discussing on and off," he said. "So I was delighted when it did." He also joked, "Normally, I kill off all the characters at the end of an episode, [but] I kept some of ’em alive. I’m growing as a human.”

netflix

In a trailer for the new series, we see Peter Capaldi explain a new "mind-expanding" technology, as characters attach electronic discs to their temples. In typical Black Mirror form, the clips become increasingly dark and disconcerting, with scenes of characters with blood on their faces and behaving erratically.

It seems that artificial technology will be a key theme of the new series, including the pitfalls of where it could lead, which is particularly poignant given current discussions around the topic in the real world.

From the trailer, the mixes of styles and genre referenced by Charlie Brooker are also evident, as Emma Corin is seen wearing period dress in black and white, while scenes on the space ship are almost technicolour by comparison. Throughout the clips shown so far, the latest series appears to be asking viewers to question what is 'real' as the words "Lose your mind. Lose your reality" flash on the screen.

You can watch the full trailer here:

View full post on YouTube

Who's in the cast of Black Mirror series 7?

The cast of the latest series includes some exciting names, including The Crown's Emma Corrin and Bridemaids' Chris O'Dowd. This full list consists of: