Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror is back with its seventh season, and it’s arriving at just the right time. With tech evolving faster than most of us can track, and politics equally unpredictable, the show's unsettling scenarios feel less like fiction and more like tomorrow’s headlines.
Since it first aired in 2011when Siri was still a novelty and the iPhone 4S had just hit shelve, Black Mirror has explored everything from mind-reading gadgets to robot bees. Fast forward to today, and we’ve got AI assistants embedded in our chats and smartwatches tracking every heartbeat. Naturally, this rapid pace keeps giving Brooker fresh ground to explore.
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Speaking to the BBC, Brooker says he has no plans to stop. “New tech keeps showing up, and people are already familiar with the ideas. You don’t have to spell it all out, they’re living with it,” he says. And with every leap in tech, there's new material. “It’s a fun job. I could do it forever.”
This season includes an episode called Hotel Reverie, where Emma Corrin and Issa Rae play celebrities remaking a classic film with a sinister edge. Corrin, who plays a glamorous 1940s star, says slipping into the vintage role was both fun and bizarre. But the story touches on real concerns: the creeping presence of AI in creative fields. “It’s scary,” Corrin admits. “As an artist, you want to believe the human part of creativity won’t be replaced.”
The creator behind the hit dystopian series says he’s nowhere near running out of disturbing ideasGetty Images
Brooker agrees, noting AI can be helpful, but only if it supports rather than replaces the people behind the work. “The moment you take the human out, or start copying their work without paying them, that’s the line.”
Another highlight this season is Plaything, a return to the world of the interactive Bandersnatch. Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry reprise their roles, joined by Lewis Gribben, who plays a loner obsessed with an old video game. Peter Capaldi also makes a haunting appearance as an older version of his character.
Despite the dark themes, Brooker is upbeat. As long as the world keeps spiralling into new tech territory, he’ll have more to write about. And judging by the buzz, audiences aren’t ready to look away just yet.
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