Netflix’s latest season of Black Mirror premieres on Thursday, tackling the dark side of streaming services in its most blunt satire yet. The show’s creator, Charlie Brooker, has said he’s more than happy to take criticism from his employer.
In the new season’s first episode, “Common People,” a schoolteacher, Amanda (Rashida Jones), is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and signs up for RiverMind, a service that allows her digital brain copy to stream back into her skull. However, as costs rise and subscription tiers multiply, Mike, her husband, begins to degrade himself on social media to pay the monthly fee.
The show’s dark humor pokes fun at the reality of streaming services, where free setups are often accompanied by hidden costs, such as intrusive ads and long sleep modes. In this case, Amanda’s digital brain copy becomes a luxury item that’s hard to afford.
Brooker says he’s “nibbling the hand that feeds” himself, rather than criticizing Netflix directly. The show has always promoted a skeptical view of the entertainment industry, but never so bluntly as in this episode.
The creator was inspired by true-crime podcasts and wondered what would make humans integrate sponsorship into their everyday speech. He thought the episode would be a dark comedy, but instead, it’s “incredibly devastating.”
The new season poses more doom-filled questions about entertainment, including the impact of streaming on mental health (“Hotel Reverie,” “Plaything”) and the world at large (“USS Callister: Into Infinity”).
Netflix has been accommodating to Brooker’s critique, never asking him to alter or soften his comments. However, some argue that this approach is a shame.
Brooker believes there isn’t an ethical way to consume entertainment without it affecting our souls. Instead, he jokes that the best way might be to watch and re-watch shows like Black Mirror, then leave rave reviews.
The show’s writer and director, Ally Pankiw, finds the episode’s portrayal of late-stage capitalism and healthcare system as shocking and dystopian. She sees the episode as a treatise on the lack of agency in the big tech era and realizes she’s complicit in that herself.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/arts/television/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-netflix.html