Black Mirror season seven is now streaming on Netflix, and its six-episode drop contains a first for the series in sequel “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” The follow-up to the popular season four episode is the standout of the bunch, and with the knowledge that series creator Charlie Brooker is pondering other sequel ideas for future seasons, here are eight stories we hope he considers revisiting.
“Be Right Back”
The first episode of Black Mirror‘s second season imagines that Martha (Hayley Atwell), a young widow, turns to AI to ease her heartbreak over the loss of her husband (Domhnall Gleeson). Recreating his consciousness—first as a chatbot, then integrated into an android that’s an exact copy of him—seems like a good idea at first, as the freaky tech on Black Mirror often does. But as Martha progresses through the stages of grief, she comes to terms with the fact that there’s no substitute for the real human she’s lost.
The episode ends with the android hanging out in her attic, occasionally getting visits from the young daughter Martha was pregnant with when her husband died. You have to wonder: what happened to it when Martha herself passed away, presumably years in the future? Did other families try to cope with tragedy with their own AI-recreated loved ones—and how did that work out? And how many android doppelgangers came into being as a result?
“Nosedive”
When this first episode of season three arrived in 2016, social media was already huge—but it’s since grown even more monstrous. TikTok didn’t even launch in the U.S. until the following year. Suffice to say the themes of “Nosedive” have only become more accurate, not to mention alarmingly prescient, in the past nine years. It’s set in a society where everyone lives or dies by the “ratings” they derive from social interactions, a system that also determines their economic status.
The main character (Bryce Dallas Howard) sees her life spiral after a scheme to gain popularity goes awry—and the fake personality she puts on to keep her numbers up fractures in the face of real emotions. Her ultimate fate predicts “cancel culture” in its own way, but the episode is certainly ripe for an update or follow-up. How’s that world faring these days? Is it still running on ratings—or did a total collapse happen somewhere along the way?
“San Junipero”
Aside from “USS Callister,” “San Junipero” is probably the most beloved Black Mirror entry of all time, arriving as the fourth episode of season three. An unconventional love story infused with 1980s nostalgia that examines the idealized possibilities that come with living inside a simulation—including the lure of eternal (if artificial) life—”San Junipero” brings genuine feeling to its narrative.
It’s no surprise that “Junipero” has popped up as a Black Mirror Easter egg in subsequent seasons; if the romance of Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) isn’t specifically mentioned, just tossing the name out there is like a wink to the viewer who knows what it represents. (There’s a “Junipero Drive” in season seven’s “Hotel Reverie,” as one example.) Its continuing presence means it wouldn’t be surprising if Brooker decided to revisit “San Junipero”—maybe exploring another relationship inside the simulation, its creators, or some other angle—in a future season.
“Hang the DJ”
Season four’s fourth episode offered a Black Mirror take on dating apps that like “San Junipero” uses a simulation to take prospective couple Amy (Georgina Campbell) and Frank (Joe Cole) on a wild “what if” ride. The “Coach” device that pairs up romantic partners steers the narrative in both amusing and heartbreaking ways, and it’s quite clear that Amy and Frank aren’t the only duo who’ve decided to rely on it.
What about all those other would-be matches—and who exactly is pulling the strings? The concept of “Coach” could be deployed in a horror tale that takes things in a much different direction than the rom-com vibes of “Hang the DJ.”
“Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”
The original episode, which arrived third in season five, had some problematic elements. But its killer premise and clever use of Miley Cyrus’ own fame to propel its narrative about a pop star who exists as both a troubled human and a chipper, AI-enhanced doll (Cyrus plays both) beg for another round.
A sequel could potentially right the wrongs of the 2019 original, checking back in with Ashley O’s music career while furthering the rich themes of how technology can be used to exploit celebrity in the most insidious of ways.
“Loch Henry”
Season six’s second episode brought true crime—more specifically, Netflix-style true crime documentaries—into the realm of Black Mirror, delivering a horrifying tale that digs its truth out of old VHS tapes. “Loch Henry” wraps up its story with satisfaction, solving the awful mystery at its center while also showing us what happens to its main character, a fledgling filmmaker who realizes he’s got an uncomfortably close connection to his own subject matter.
But true crime’s popularity is still sky-high, especially on Black Mirror‘s own streamer, and if a direct sequel to “Loch Henry” doesn’t make sense plot-wise, it would still be intriguing to see the show approach the genre from another, presumably just as twisted angle.
“Beyond the Sea” © Netflix
“Beyond the Sea”
Season six’s third episode has one of Black Mirror‘s longest runtimes to date, a necessary indulgence considering all the twists and turns its story takes. First, there’s the complicated set-up: in an alt-history 1960s, space exploration has evolved to include the idea that when astronauts are on extended deep-space missions, they leave behind “replicas” that look just like them. If they have downtime millions of light-years away, they can transfer their minds into these artificial bodies and interact with their loved ones back on Earth.
Conflicts arise when an anti-replica group attacks astronaut David (Josh Hartnett) and his family—murdering the actual humans and destroying David’s replica. Sympathetic to his co-worker’s agony, Cliff (Aaron Paul) lets David use his own replica for terrestrial visits… until lines are crossed and David starts to put the moves on Cliff’s wife, Lana (Kate Mara). He looks like her husband, but he’s a different man inside—and he’s not even actually a living being on the outside, either.
It’s messy! And it ends messily, with David murdering Cliff’s family and destroying Cliff’s replica, meaning both men are stuck in space together as long as their mission needs them. What’s worse, now neither have anyone waiting for them back home. What happens next could make up a sequel episode—as could another story digging into the idea of dopplegangers who switch brains. Surely astronauts aren’t the only people who make use of this unsettling tech?
“USS Callister: Into Infinity”
Come on, you knew we were going to include this one. Season seven’s sixth and final episode is so much fun—and the digital copies that make up the USS Callister crew still haven’t quite resolved their dilemma, now that they’re all living inside of Nanette’s digital consciousness (which is now part of her organic body). How’s that going to look a few years down the line? There may be dozens of seasons of Real Housewives to watch, but surely another urge to flee will creep in eventually.
Which Black Mirror episodes would you like to revisit with sequels? Let us know your picks in the comments!
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