Since 2011, Black Mirror has been dazzling audiences with its exceptional storytelling. The anthology series is capable of both mesmerizing and frightening any viewer with its technologically driven science-fiction stories that depict a future not too removed from our own world. With one overarching theme carried through an array of subgenres, Black Mirror‘s return has become increasingly anticipated before each new season drops on Netflix.
For 2025’s release, creator Charlie Brooker produced some of the best episodes of the series, including “Hotel Reverie” and “Eulogy,” as well as the highly anticipated sequel, “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” With the latter being a massive draw for Season 7, it’s no wonder the streaming hit reached 188.4 streaming hours. As Black Mirror continues, more Hollywood stars have joined in on the action, and Season 7 was no exception. For over a decade, Black Mirror has been telling stories that reflect a possible technological future, and given its haunting parallels to reality, there’s no shortage of potential for future seasons to explore.
‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 Had To Meet Already-High Viewer Expectations
Following Black Mirror‘s five episodes in 2023, the heat was on to match the height of success in the next batch of episodes. Thanks in part to the incredibly meta episode “Joan Is Awful,” starring Annie Murphy and Salma Hayek, audiences expected something as good, if not better. There needed to be something that could go equally viral to capture attention and prove that the anthology series was still going strong. And Black Mirror succeeded with Season 7. The hook was “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” Serving as the first follow-up to a previous episode in the series’ history, the episode brought viewers back inside “USS Callister” as the cloned crew faces hackers in the digital world, while CEO James Walton (Jimmi Simpson) faces allegations of illegal DNA cloning in the real world. As the anchor of the season, Netflix smartly placed it as the final cherry on top, allowing audiences to journey their way to the finale with five exceptional episodes first.
The method worked. While you could easily start where you want and view the season in any order, the streams reached their peak because viewers were drawn to every episode. To kick off the season, Black Mirror began with “Common People,” a story in which happy, loving couple Mike (Chris O’Dowd) and Amanda (Rashida Jones) begin a subscription with a tech start-up, Rivermind, after Amanda develops an undiagnosed brain tumor. Rivermind would upload her brain to a cloud service, allowing doctors to remove the cancer, then allowing her to live happily. But the “common” tier subscription costs include limited access and advertisements without warning. The episode explored the terror of consumerism, private healthcare, and the toxic need to rely on the cloud to maintain our history.
With a gripping start, you were virtually glued to your screens like you were living in your own Black Mirror nightmare. The subsequent episodes explore a terrying revenge plot from a woman with a pendant that manipulated reality, a far-too-probable story about an AI-based virtual company that re-creates classic films through immersive consciousness, an episode about a video game developer’s artificial lifeforms, the “Thronglets,” that lives in the same universe as Bandersnatch, and a heartwrenching tale about exploring the past through photos that come to life. All before the illustrious sequel. By setting up a perfectly curated journey through an array of emotions — hope, fear, sorrow, grief, and more — Black Mirror provided a reason to keep watching.
Hollywood Stars Continue to Flock to ‘Black Mirror’s Ensemble Cast
In its early seasons, Black Mirror focused on story first, celebrity second. Of course, that didn’t mean rising stars weren’t present in those exceptional episodes — including the likes of Daniel Kaluuya,Jodie Whittaker, andDomhnall Gleeson, to name a few — but Brooker was likely more focused on maintaining the integrity of the show’s storytelling over the gimmick of big names. Once Black Mirror established itself for a wider audience, there was freedom to bring in bigger actors to help elevate the show and introduce the sci-fi series to new eyes. As Netflix itself put it for Season 7, the cast was “embarrassingly stacked.”
The latest season featured such names as Tracee Ellis Ross,Issa Rae,Awkwafina,Peter Capaldi, and Paul Giamatti, the latter of whom delivered one of his greatest performances. This draw for an already intriguing series proves that even having big names involved doesn’t diminish the story’s impact. “Eulogy” would have likely been a great episode regardless of who played Phillip, a man who virtually stepped into old photos searching for happier times, only to discover the truth about the separation that changed his life — but the depth Giamatti brought to the role gave the quiet, emotionally tinged episode the strength no other performer could. Giamatti wasn’t just perfectly cast; he was extraordinary proof of how far Black Mirror has come since its debut.
“I Counted on Our Past Relationship”: ‘Black Mirror’s Rashida Jones and Tracee Ellis Ross Discuss Their Onscreen Reunion in “Common People”
Jones also discusses being in front of the camera for Season 7, and Ross reveals her thoughts on her character’s honesty.
Some devoted fans have been disappointed by the presence of big stars in later seasons, but it was a natural progression that needed to happen. It’s not as though Black Mirror has turned into an ensemble consisting only of Hollywood elites; an episode like “Bête Noire,” for example, utilized lesser-known names and still provided a gripping viewing experience. Many actors of the series are fans of the show and have been knocking down Brooker’s door to play in his world, and the show’s compelling, standalone episodes are easier for certain actors to fit into their schedules, giving them further appeal. If a Season 8 is officially greenlit, viewers should expect another star-studded lineup.
Even if its initial debut wasn’t the highest in series history, what’s evident from these Netflix viewing numbers acquired over a longer period of 2025 is thatBlack Mirror is still a beloved series that fans continue to watch. As a complete season, the 2025 episodes may be the best to date, but like any great franchise, that discussion is always very much up for debate. Wherever Black Mirror goes next, there are still lots of potential stories about technology to be told that both serveas entertainment and a cautionary tale.
Black Mirror is available to stream on Netflix.
- Release Date
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December 4, 2011
- Network
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Channel 4, Netflix
- Directors
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Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
- Writers
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Jesse Armstrong
