Netflix Orders Black Mirror Season 7, With A Sequel To One Of Its Best Episodes
TV's most shocking, confounding, and oftentimes divisive show is coming back for more with its highly-anticipated seventh season ... but, as befits this franchise, there's an additional twist. There's nothing this particular fanbase loves more than to debate the absolute best and worst episodes of the anthology series. "San Junipero" and "Bandersnatch" are commonly cited near the top of most lists (the latter of which is technically billed as an interactive film, to be fair), but the acclaimed "USS Callister" might very well be in a league all by itself. The season 4 premiere has taken on a life of its own in the years since its debut, boasting a strong cast, a mind-bending premise, and arguably one of the best "Star Trek" homages/satires in all of sci-fi. Well, viewers can now look forward to a sequel of sorts, which will presumably bring back the original cast of the episode for yet another virtual-reality adventure.
The news was announced as part of the Next on Netflix event taking place in London, revealing that the next season of "Black Mirror" will premiere sometime in 2025 and include a total of six episodes. There have long been rumors about a potential spin-off/sequel to the "USS Callister" episode, even though many would contend the story was told to its complete and full resolution without much need for any continuation. No further details were given, but you can check out Netflix's fancy announcement video below.
The USS Callister sails again
"Six new stories, but one looks a little familiar." That's how the streaming service behind "Black Mirror" amusingly described the news that not only would season 7 of the Netflix series return for six brand-new installments (most of which are all but certain to stir up conversation and debate) but that one, in particular, will serve as an extension of one of the show's most well-received episodes ever.
Fans will remember the 2017 episode "USS Callister," which starred Jesse Plemons as Robert Daly, a video game company employee who moonlights as a daring "Star Trek"-like captain in a virtual-reality game. The genre-bending hour unsurprisingly takes a dark turn involving Daly's attempts at creating DNA-replicated personas of coworkers and essentially trapping these clones in the simulation. The award-winning season 4 premiere also starred actors like Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Michaela Coel, and more, but it's uncertain who exactly will return for this next episode — though I suppose we can always hold out hope for more of Aaron Paul's "Gamer691."
"USS Callister" was written by series creator Charlie Brooker, along with William Bridges, and directed by Toby Haynes. There's no official word on whether this specific creative team will return for the sequel either. In any case, season 7 of "Black Mirror" will return with one very familiar adventure in 2025.