The first trailer for Death to 2020 shows off its stellar cast and takes aim at conservative talk show hosts, Quibi, and the year in general. Created by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, both best known for creating the dystopian anthology series Black Mirror for Netflix, Death to 2020 features a star-studded cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow, Hugh Grant, Kumail Nanjiani, Leslie Jones, Samson Kayo, Joe Keery, Cristin Milioti and Diane Morgan. The mockumentary is due to air on Netflix December 27, just in time to coincide with the end of the year.
Brooker and Jones have worked together for over a decade, creating not only the hit series Black Mirror for Netflix, but also co-producing a number of shows for the BBC in England, including Screenwipe, Newswipe, as well as annual Wipe shows which look back at the year that's just happened. Morgan (After Life) appeared regularly on those shows as a character called Philomena Cunk, and looks to be reprising that role, or one similar to it, here. Unlike Brooker's previous annual wrap-ups, this one will take the form of a mockumentary rather than a more straightforward humorous look back at the news headlines of the year.
Now, Netflix released the first trailer for Death to 2020 has been released just a week before its debut on Netflix. The footage reveals each of the main actor's characters, with Jackson playing a reporter, Grant a historian, Kudrow a conservative pundit, Kayo a scientist and Nanjiani a tech CEO. Milioti, Keery and Morgan are playing average citizens, while legendary British comedian Tracey Ullman is appearing as the Queen. There's also a hilarious line spoken by Morgan at the end which references the demise of Jeffrey Katzenberg's streaming service Quibi. You can see the trailer below:
The trailer reveals Brooker and Jones have been hard at work during the pandemic. The mockumentary looks like it is going to take no prisoners, with all sectors of society seemingly a target. The producer pair made a similar special for the BBC focused on the pandemic in England, called Charlie Brooker's Antiviral Wipe, and it seems as though they've now aimed their sights at how the year played out in America. Among the stellar cast, Kudrow's conservative pundit and Grant's historian seem to be the standouts, which each actor playing against type in their respective roles.
The trailer also reveals that despite Brooker being unsure of making another season of Black Mirror, he hasn't given up his cynical worldview, and used 2020's dystopian reality as a springboard for yet another scathing satire of modern society. Only this time, Death to 2020 is set very much in the real world. It seems like this year was a new season of Black Mirror after all, we just didn't know it.
Source: Netflix