The British sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror has always been a satirical look at technology folding in on itself, so it makes all the sense in the world that it would eventually become a Netflix show. The streaming network, after all, has a hint of dystopia about it, given the way it curates its original programing based on reams of viewer data. Netflix announced Monday that it will produce “multiple episodes” of Charlie Brooker’s drama, which has only aired seven episodes since it debuted on the U.K.’s Channel 4 in 2011, but which quickly became a cult sensation in the States when it started streaming online (on Netflix, naturally).
Each Black Mirror episode offers a twisted tale of technology gone wrong, with some set in a radical future, and others in the screen-addicted present (the “black mirror” of the title refers to the blank screen of a smartphone or tablet). While the premise is satirical, the tone veers wildly, from the bleak political commentary of “The National Anthem” (where social-media pressure forces the Prime Minister to commit a live-streamed act of bestiality) to the melancholy “Be Right Back,” which sees a woman try to replace her deceased boyfriend with a virtual avatar constructed from his Internet history. Brooker hasn’t produced a full episode since February 2013, but did write a Christmas special last year containing three small stories starring Jon Hamm. That was, perhaps, an acknowledgement of the show’s popularity in America, which has surely brought about its return.