‘Black Mirror’ season 6 first reviews: “Prepare to convulse in horror”
The sixth season of Black Mirror has arrived on Netflix to mostly positive reviews, with critics describing the new episodes as “thrilling” and “scathing and sadistic as ever”.
Charlie Brooker’s dystopian sci-fi anthology series returned with five new episodes yesterday (June 15), which were previously described as the “most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected yet”.
Many reviews have praised Brooker’s winning formula of twists and turns while also recognising some fresh new approaches. “Expect incredible turns from Paapa Essedieu, Salma Hayek and Aaron Paul – even if this isn’t its best season,” critic Lucy Mangan wrote in a four-star review for The Guardian.
“Netflix’s perversely prescient dystopian drama will once again ruthlessly mine your existential angst,” she wrote, though cast some doubt over whether any new additions will “stick in the mind” as much as the series’ most loved and maligned episodes.
Empire Magazine also awarded the new series four stars, adding that it “eases you into” a somewhat fresh approach from Brooker. It went on: “As scathing and sadistic as ever, Black Mirror’s return tweaks the formula just enough to keep things fresh — while remaining recognisably Brookerish.”
A three-star review in The Independent was slightly more sceptical, writing that the “sci-fi mishmash needs to stop messing with a winning formula”, though said it “also brings something new”.
The Hollywood Reporter described the new episodes as a “hit-or-miss” sixth season with a “radical change of pace from Black Mirror as we’ve come to know it”, but added that it’s “the freshest this series has felt since at least 2017”.
Variety also noted that Brooker was “trying new things with his art and with his characters”, adding that “even when they’re awful, we more clearly see the humans within the machine”.
Despite mixed opinions on the varying quality of episodes among critics, NPR said there was “not a dud in the bunch”.
However, Digital Spy also described the new series as a “hit-and-miss season”, adding that “whether any of the bullseye episodes will enter the Black Mirror hall of fame” remains to be seen.
Radio Times also acknowledged that Brooker “takes a risk and it definitely pays off”. It added: “Black Mirror still has the mind-bending tech, but Brooker proves that leaning into crime and horror is just as terrifying.”
You can find more details about the latest series of Black Mirror here.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
