Black Mirror has been shocking fans with its dark undertones and mind-bending plot twists since it first aired on Channel 4 in the U.K. in 2011.
The popular Netflix series is now back for its seventh season, which premiered on April 10, with six new episodes for fans to binge. But before you dive in, we’re looking back at the best Black Mirror episodes of the six seasons past — including the ones that still haunt us today.
The biggest fan favorites are a thought-provoking mix of science fiction, technology and dystopian society, from “USS Callister,” which earned four Emmy wins and received a sequel in this new season (the first in Black Mirror history), to “Joan Is Awful,” the season 6 premiere starring Salma Hayek that showed us a whole new side of the star.
“It’s as if I created an alter ego where I could do the most disgusting, grotesque things that you would never do in real life … and have permission to do that,” Hayek told Radio Times in 2023 of her role on the show, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.
From installments that contain Emmy-winning tales to those with starry guests, here are the 10 best Black Mirror episodes to watch now.
Season 3, Episode 1: “Nosedive”
Bryce Dallas Howard leads this tale of a young woman named Lacie who is deeply concerned about how she’s perceived by others — which is understandable, considering the fact that she lives in a society where people are “rated” like Uber drivers.
Lacie starts out the episode on a mission to raise her 4.2 rating to 4.5 in order to qualify for a discount on an apartment she has her eye on.
The harder she tries to raise her rating, however, the further it seems to fall…
Season 4, Episode 5: “Metalhead”
Man vs. machine: That’s the premise at play in “Metalhead.” Filmed in black and white, the episode follows Bella, played by Maxine Peake, as she tries to escape robotic dogs that want to track down her every move following a societal collapse.
At 41 minutes long, it’s the second-shortest episode in the series, but the unbridled fear it provokes means it’s also one of the scariest.
Season 3, Episode 2: “Playtest”
“It’s only a game.” That’s the mindset Cooper (Wyatt Russell) is in when he agrees to test a video game for a company after his identity is stolen while he’s abroad and he’s in need of quick cash.
The augmented reality he finds himself in, however, is more than he bargained for as the game is predicated on his worst fears, including giant spiders, red skulls and scenes of murder, which begin to appear before him.
Fair warning: “Playtest” has one of the most shocking endings of the whole series.
Season 5, Episode 3: “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”
In this pop star-inspired episode of Black Mirror, Miley Cyrus plays a singer (Ashley O.) whose sugary-sweet image — and controlling aunt/manager — prevent her from pursuing the rock music she longs to play. Now, her only hope of breaking free of her creative shackles lies with the talking Ashley doll that was made in her likeness.
In addition to the similarities Cyrus reportedly felt with her character, the episode’s dark energy was made all the more real by the fact that Cyrus filmed its pivotal shots, in which Ashley O. is strapped to a gurney, as her Malibu home burned down.
“I had this anxiety attack with a vision attached where I was strapped down to a gurney,” the “Plastic Hearts” singer revealed in her 2023 “Used to Be Young” TikTok series. “As my house was burning, I was strapped to a gurney with my hands locked in handcuffs strapped to a bed [filming Black Mirror].”
Season 6, Episode 5: “Demon 79”
On the darker side of the Black Mirror spectrum is “Demon 79,” a sordid tale about Nida, a mousy shoe saleswoman (Anjana Vasan) who accidentally releases a demon named Gaap (Paapa Essiedu) into the world when she finds an ancient talisman in her company’s basement and cuts her hand on it.
Now, she’s tasked with choosing three people to sacrifice in the next three days, or risk unleashing Armageddon. Bleak though things may seem, Gaap becomes a strangely comforting presence in Nida’s world, guiding her through the most impossible of tasks. But the clock is ticking on their mission…
The writing and character development displayed in this episode earned the show a BAFTA in 2024 for best writer in the drama category.
Season 3, Episode 4: “San Junipero”
“San Junipero,” by contrast, has a more hopeful finale than most, though it still deals with some heavy topics. Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are total opposites who fall for each other in the island town of San Junipero.
As with most things in Black Mirror, things aren’t exactly as they seem, and the vacation spot where the two spirited young women meet turns out to be an alternate reality in which the elderly can live as former versions of themselves.
After picking up two Emmys (and tons of fan accolades) in 2017, show writer Charlie Brooker told reporters in the press room that he wasn’t opposed to a sequel. “We tend not to do sequels — certainly, I think we could — especially since we closed the story so nicely,” he said.
Mbatha-Raw agreed, telling PEOPLE in January 2024, that it would be “fascinating” to see her character and Davis’ “in a different time.”
“Obviously I think it was so iconic — the ’80s for ‘San Junipero’ — but if there was another time period that you could have that love story in, I think that would be amazing,” she said.
Season 6, Episode 1: “Joan Is Awful”
“Joan Is Awful” taps into the fear of the unknown surrounding augmented reality — and then some. It starts when an ordinary woman named Joan (Annie Murphy) and her fiancé turn on Streamberry, a streaming platform much like Netflix, only to find that everything she did that day is being aired on a show titled Joan Is Awful, in which Hayek plays a fictionalized version of Joan.
As the worst parts of her character are revealed in real time, Joan finds her life crumbling around her and vows to take back control of it with the help of the actress assuming her likeness.
Season 4, Episode 4: “Hang the DJ”
How far would you go to find your perfect match? And who would you trust to choose them for you? Such is the premise of “Hang the DJ,” which sees sparks flying between two romantic hopefuls Frank (Joe Cole) and Amy (Georgina Campbell).
The problem? The dating system they’ve enrolled in to find the “one” has only assigned them 12 short hours together. Once their time is up, they’ll both get new assignments, but they can’t forget about each other…
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
Technically, this one’s not considered a Black Mirror episode, but an “interactive film,” taking home the Emmy for outstanding TV movie in 2019.
Starring Fionn Whitehead as game creator Stefan Butler, who is creating an alternate reality onscreen from the pages of a fantasy novel, and Will Poulter as his co-creator Colin Ritman, Bandersnatch is unique in that it allows viewers to pick Stefan’s next moves in varying scenarios for a total of five possible endings.
If you’re not quick enough, Netflix will make your choice for you, and you only get redos on certain decisions.
Season 4, Episode 1: “USS Callister”
“USS Callister’s” awards speak for themselves: This particular episode, about a mistreated gaming developer named Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) who takes his revenge on his coworkers in the virtual world he creates for his gamers, was nominated for seven Emmys and took home four.
Heavily infused with throwbacks to both Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, it’s “about someone who is wielding absolute power who shouldn’t be, and people overthrowing him” Brooker told Entertainment Weekly in December 2017.
Interestingly, while it has its dark moments, this top fan pick is also laden with plenty of humor — a rarity for the dark show.
Now, in a Black Mirror first, the cast is back for a sequel in season 7, with much of the cast returning, including Cristin Milioti, whose character, Nanette Cole, leads the revolution against Robert.
“It was something that Charlie and I had talked about for a really long time. We’d been in touch basically since that first episode came out about the possibility of doing a sequel,” Milioti told PEOPLE ahead of the episode’s release. “It was a whole series at one point, it was a different plotted movie at another point.”
The episode, titled “USS Callister: Into Infinity” is now streaming on Netflix, along with the rest of season 7.
Season 7, Episode 1: “Common People”
The first episode of season 7, “Common People,” thrust fans right back into the show’s bleakness. It started off as what appeared to be an “indie comedy” before quickly turning into something “quintessentially Black Mirror in that it’s pitiless in terms of how it treats the characters,” Brooker told Vulture ahead of the premiere.
Starring Chris O’Dowd as Mike and Rashida Jones as Amanda, the episode tells the story of a couple living a normal life, until Amanda is diagnosed with a brain tumor. They are referred to Rivermind, a company that can clone her mind and stream her consciousness back to her — but at a steep price.
As the membership levels increase in price, Amanda’s quality of life continues to decrease, and she ultimately asks Mike to make the hardest decision he’s ever had to make.
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