Here's Everything Fans Should Know About 'Black Mirror' Season 5
The first details of Netflix's newest season of Black Mirror have leaked out, and it sounds like the show is pushing the boundaries of what is possible on TV yet again. The series started out as a cross between The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected back when it aired in the UK on Channel 4. But under Netflix's direction, the series has gone more in-depth, with episodes like "San Junipero" and "USS Callister," both of which earned Emmy wins. So, when does Black Mirror Season 5 premiere? Word is it will arrive at the end of the year.
This week, Bloomberg reported that insiders working on Season 5 had revealed the show is attempting a brand new format for one of their episodes. The technical term for what they're doing with the story is known as "Interactive TV." But anyone who grew up going to the school library will recognize it as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story. At critical moments in the plot, the viewer watching at home will be asked to decide which decision the protagonist should make, and the rest of the episode plays out from there.
As of right now, there is no indication of how many decision points the episode will have, but the idea is that viewers will all see different variations of the same story on their first viewing.
But how long will fans have to wait to try out this new episode format? Bloomberg doesn't give a precise release date, but as Entertainment Weekly notes, the show began production for Season 5 at the beginning of the year and has been filming since March.
According to a new report in Bloomberg, there are some intriguing details about one of the new episodes, plus a premiere date. Season 5 will be released in December, the report says. That makes sense as the Emmy winner’s previous season was released Dec. 29 last year, so perhaps a holiday rollout is again in the works. The show went into production earlier this year and is still currently shooting.
Netflix has not revealed how many episodes will make up the new season, but when the show moved from Channel 4 to Netflix, it went from three episodes per season to six, so fans are assuming there will be a six-episode count for this installment as well, not counting all the different variations in the interactive one.
Netflix has not confirmed or denied the Bloomberg report. But it is notable that Black Mirror Season 3 (Netflix's first go-round with the series) debuted on Oct. 21, 2016. With the show still filming, and no press rollout in the works yet, the series obviously will not be arriving to match that date. Meanwhile, Season 4 premiered on Dec. 29, 2017, just in time to qualify for awards shows like the Golden Globes, as well as the various guild awards, including SAG-AFTRA.
Chances are, with all the critical praise the series has garnered, Netflix will not want to sit a year out. This makes December an excellent bet for a release window indeed.
