Charlie Brooker says Black Mirror season 7 is like "OG Black Mirror" with an episode that has "one of the bleakest, heaviest gut punches yet"

Black Mirror season 6
(Image credit: Netflix)

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has teased season 7 of the hit sci-fi show and has confirmed that the new season will be more like the OG series fans first fell in love with.

"We’re doing some things we’ve not done before. People can expect quite a lot of emotion and, hopefully, a good mix of chills," said Brooker in an interview with Deadline. "But this time around, the episodes are all, in a way, like OG Black Mirror."

Season 6 hit Netflix last year, but upon its launch fans were quick to complain that it felt a lot less like the original Black Mirror which was introduced on Channel 4 in 2011. This feeling is reflected in the season’s current 44% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Soon after, Brooker replied to complaints saying the change in pace doesn't have anything to do with the show’s movie to Netflix but is simply the show evolving with the times.

It seems like Brooker has taken these complaints into consideration though as he now promises the next season will feel more like the earlier seasons. The first season launched genre-bending episodes such as Fifteen Million Merits and National Anthem that deal with politics, societal imbalances, and the dangers of technology and have become solid fan favorites. 

Season 7 may also take things further in terms of horror and scares as Brooker states later in the interview, "I wrote one script, and the general consensus was that it was one of the bleakest, heaviest gut punches yet. There are also techy episodes and ones that are making people cry." The creator ended with, "The viewers will be the judge."

The next season, which is due to drop sometime in 2025, does not have an official synopsis or episode list at the time. However, earlier this year it was confirmed that the season will contain a sequel to season 4’s USS Callister, one of the series’ most popular episodes where a begrudged video game developer traps clones of his coworkers in a Star Trek-like simulation.

Black Mirror season 7 will hit Netflix in 2025, seasons 1-6 are available to stream on Netflix right now. For more check out our ranking of the best Black Mirror episodes, or keep up to date with upcoming TV shows.  

Editorial Associate, GamesRadar+

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.