Can Black Mirror Stay Fresh by Breaking its Biggest Rule?
Time for one last trip.
Making an anthology has its pros and cons. You get to tell a wide range of stories while hopping between genres and tones, but every scenario and character fans get to know disappears after the episode... even if they were really popular.
Black Mirror faced this problem with their most acclaimed episode, the quadruple Emmy-winning “USS Callister.” Now, the series is breaking away from its one-and-done structure to revisit that world in a future episode... but with a major twist.
“USS Callister” was the premiere episode of Black Mirror’s fourth season, the first fans saw after the series moved to Netflix for Season 3 and won hearts with its nostalgic love story “San Junipero.” But the story of a woman trapped in a lonely programmer’s Star Trek-inspired fantasy proved Season 3’s success was no fluke, as Charlie Brooker’s fierce writing proved capable of translating to even the most cliched setting.
“USS Callister” followed the Star Trek-themed fantasies of a lonely tech mogul played by Jesse Plemons.
Today, Netflix revealed that Black Mirror Season 7 will premiere in 2025, and will include a sequel to “USS Callister.” “Captain Robert Daly may have died in the original episode,” Netflix’s statement teased, “but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning…”
It sounds like this new episode will be a true sequel, meaning that Plemons, who played the smarmy Captain Daly and his real-life analog, will not return. However, that does suggest the rest of the crew, including Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) and Shania Lowry (Michaela Coel), will return.
Where will the Callister go now that Nanette’s in charge?
This is the first time Black Mirror has looked back on a previous episode, and while the series shouldn’t rely on old glories, it does raise the question of what other stories are worth revisiting. Where is the Miley Cyrus AI doll Ashley Too these days? Whatever happened to the Black Museum? Black Mirror has been around for 13 years; it’s earned the chance to circle back and explore more of the worlds it’s created. As it becomes harder and harder to satirize the present, a multi-episode narrative could give the series the fresh legs it needs.
