Just three episodes?! That was how some fans felt after the release of ‘Black Mirror’ Season 5 on Netflix. So naturally, those same fans are wondering when we’ll get another dose of the hit science fiction/zeitgeist-skewering anthology. But when you think about it, we’ve already gotten two healthy doses within just months. And as the show’s creators, Charlie Brooker, and Annabel Jones remind us, ‘Black Mirror’ seasons used to always consist of three episodes. It wasn’t until Netflix picked the series up in 2016 (from Britain’s Channel 4) that the episode count was doubled to six for Seasons 3 and 4.
Season 5 arrived little more than five months after the epic “choose your own adventure” film event ‘Bandersnatch’, which arrived just after Christmas. So that alone left a shorter gap between installments than usual. Brooker likened that to “an extra dessert,” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“Back in the day, we always used to do three. We looked at the other episodes we were working on in conjunction with Bandersnatch and realized they complemented each other. Rather than make everyone wait for ages while we write some more, we thought: why don’t we put these out relatively close to Bandersnatch? I can understand some people saying, “Only three episodes? That’s not fair.” But they’re actually getting more Black Mirror in a short space of time than they’ve had before, because Bandersnatch is about five-and-a-half hours and this season is about three hours. It’s kind of like an extra dessert.”
Jones added, “I actually think we’ve over delivered.”
But, if you choose not to see it that way and still want to know when new ‘Black Mirror’ episodes will arrive… well, Brooker and Jones don’t know. As Jones said:
“Whether Netflix will let us make it become Season 6 is another thing. But we’re constantly working out new ideas, yes.”
Netflix hasn’t ordered more ‘Black Mirror’, but considering that it seems to be getting more popular as time goes by, it would seem natural to do so. And yet, fans may get a dose of… something before the end of 2019.
Jones let slip:
“I was about to say if something is coming out in December, then I’m very anxious. But I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say that, so I’m going to say nothing.”
If there is something coming in December, but a sixth season of ‘Black Mirror’ hasn’t yet been ordered, what could it be? One strong possibility is the rumored spinoff of the Season 4 installment “USS Callister,” featuring a virtual reality world created by an introverted tech genius (played by Jesse Plemons), in which he is allowed to play the Captain Kirk-like hero he had always dreamt of being.
In February, one of Plemons’ costars, ‘Westworld’s Jimmy Simpson told The Wrap:
“I will say, unofficially, that was– we’ve always talked about it. Charlie told me he had great ideas; I’m not holding him to that. […] He said that it’s his favorite episode and he just wants it to live on.”
Are you anxious for more ‘Black Mirror’? How do you feel about a “USS Callister” series instead?
