- Season six of "Black Mirror" was released on June 15 after a four-year wait.
- Some fans are disappointed with the latest season, saying it lacks the classic "Black Mirror" element.
- Creator Charlie Brooker says the show was never about "tech is bad," but about "people are messed up."
The latest season of "Black Mirror" was released last Thursday — four years since season five — many fans say they are disappointed.
Despite great anticipation amongst fans since the new season was touted by Netflix to be the "most unpredictable season yet," the social media buzz has been lukewarm since its premiere on June 15.
The lack of the iconic "tech is bad" theme is what fans feel the season is missing.
—Layah Heilpern (@LayahHeilpern) June 18, 2023
"Black mirror was supposed to be about the dystopian potential of tomorrow's technology. Now it's turned into an adults modern day goosebumps. Disappointing," read a tweet with almost 1,000 likes as of June 21.
—Ryan (@RyydeOrDie) June 19, 2023
"Black Mirror is not Black Mirroring like Black Mirror has Black Mirrored before," read another with close to 11,000 likes as of June 21. Hundreds of other tweets echo a similar sentiment.
But "Black Mirror" was never really about the detriments of tech, said the show's creator Charlie Brooker in an interview with GamesRadar+, a site for video game-related news.
He was aware that people think of the series as the "tech is bad" show, and it's vexing to him, per the interview with GamesRadar+.
"I found that a bit frustrating partly because I always felt like, 'Well the show isn't saying tech is bad, the show is saying people are fucked up.' So, you know, 'Get it right!'" Brooker told GamesRadar+.
Nevertheless, this season still has "a lot of sort of media commentary and satire in it" as with past seasons, Brooker told GamesRadar+, "and that's inevitably going to have something to do with your image and the way you're perceived."
"Black Mirror" season six includes five episodes. An AI-themed dystopian story "Joan is Awful" kicks off the season, followed by "Loch Henry," a thriller spiel set in a sleepy Scottish town. The season's third episode, "Beyond the Sea," is a classic "Black Mirror"-esque take on space horror. "Mazey Day" is the penultimate episode about papping gone wrong, and the season concludes with "Demon 79," a dark comedy set in the late '70s.
Within a week of its premiere, "Black Mirror"'s sixth season currently sits at second place on Netflix's Top 10 Global TV shows in the English chart with 11.3 million views, trailing season four of "Never Have I Ever" with 11.5 million views.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.