A magazine article has indicated a December premiere date for Black Mirror season 4. It's never really been a question that a fourth season of Black Mirror was coming, as when Netflix picked up the series a couple years ago, they originally ordered 12 episodes. The initial announcement was that these 12 installments would comprise season 3, but the decision was eventually made to split the load in half, doing a 6-episode season 3 and a 6-episode season 4.
Season 3 debuted last October, and earned praise on the level of past seasons that were produced for the U.K.'s Channel 4. The most buzzed-about episode was 'San Junipero', a tale of love that manages to outlast even death itself, as well as a nostalgic trip back to at least an approximation of the 1980s. The episode ended up earning an Emmy nomination and many fans are hoping for a follow-up at some point, although series creator Charlie Brooker says that he feels the story of main characters Kelly and Yorkie is finished.
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Last month, Netflix finally released the first trailer for Black Mirror season 4, which revealed the episode titles for all 6 new stories. The writers, directors, and lead cast for each episode were also revealed. Now, the new issue of Empire Magazine contains an article about season 4, which ends with "Black Mirror season 4 is on Netflix in December." This is the first solid indication of exactly when season 4 will arrive, as the aforementioned trailer just said "coming soon" at the end. Netflix has yet to confirm or deny the Empire report.
Saw this in @empiremagazine today. Looks ace @charltonbrooker !! pic.twitter.com/SpAmrVBlBx— Will Bridges (@WjBridges) September 5, 2017
The 6 episodes that will comprise Black Mirror season 4 are ‘Crocodile’, ‘ArkAngel’, ‘Hang the DJ’, ‘USS Callister’, ‘Metalhead’, and ‘Black Museum’. It's still unclear what each of these stories are actually about, although the images so far make it clear that 'USS Callister' is some type of Star Trek satire episode.
With Brooker recently softening on the idea that all of Black Mirror's episodes take place in the same universe, one wonders if anything in season 4 will serve to solidify that perception, and further unite the burgeoning Black Mirror TV world. It will also be interesting to see if season 4 matches the general critical acclaim of past seasons, or if this is where the series finally hits a creative slump.
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Black Mirror season 4 looks likely to hit Netflix in December.