Black Mirror is one of the most original TV series of recent years — and also one of the hardest to recommend without a few words of warning. British, anthology, arrived at its third season on Netflix with self-contained episodes, it’s based on possible futures in which a technology or trend of our society is pushed to its absolute extreme. The result is often disturbing, always thought-provoking.

The Anthology Format

Each episode of Black Mirror is a completely standalone story: different characters, different settings, different technologies. There’s no continuous narrative to follow — you can start from any point. This also makes it very re-watchable: each episode is a film in its own right, with its own pace, its own genre (thriller, drama, dark comedy) and its own level of emotional brutality.

What It’s About

Imagine a world where thanks to technology you can view and review not just some but all of your memories, never forgetting anything. Or a world where people’s social privileges depend on the “likes” they receive in a pervasive social network. Or a world where it’s possible to upload the mind of a deceased person onto a digital medium.

These and many other scenarios are the subjects of Black Mirror — nightmares about possible futures that recall The Twilight Zone somewhat, but in a more technological, more grotesque and often darker key.

Why Watch It

Black Mirror works because it’s not talking about a distant future: it’s talking about now, exaggerated just enough to make it recognisable. Each episode takes something that already exists — social media, surveillance, screen addiction, digital immortality — and pushes it to its logical extreme. Fair warning: sometimes you’ll come away a little disturbed. Other times you’ll find yourself reflecting on the world we already live in, looking out the window.

Absolutely recommended — especially if you like series that make you think.