Netflix's sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror is returning for an eighth season, and production is already underway. No release date was announced, but the streamer confirmed on social media that Season 8 is in production, with Variety reporting that filming began over the summer.
It's not exactly the most unexpected announcement. Earlier this year, series creator Charlie Brooker hinted that the dystopian anthology series would return, saying, "hopefully it'll be more Black Mirror than ever."
Still, there's always some uncertainty surrounding a Netflix original, especially one like Black Mirror, which has had an inconsistent release cadence over the years.
Black Mirror originally premiered in December 2011 on Channel 4 in the U.K., before Netflix took over with Season 3 in 2016. New installments arrived fairly consistently for the next few years, including the interactive film Bandersnatch in 2018. But Season 6 didn't arrive until 2023, four years after Season 5, and consisted of only five episodes. The turnaround sped up again for Season 7, though it still arrived nearly two years later and featured just six episodes.
Now approaching its eighth season, Black Mirror has become one of Netflix's longest-running series, an impressive feat considering it doesn't have quite the same mainstream popularity as originals like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game. But there's no denying the cultural impact it's had.
Many consider Seasons 1-4 to be the show's peak, with episodes like White Christmas, San Junipero, USS Callister, The Entire History of You and Hang the DJ becoming some of the series' most defining entries. Seasons 5 and 6 received a more mixed reception, but Season 7 was largely viewed as a return to form, capped off by USS Callister: Into Infinity, the show's first-ever direct sequel and a well-received follow-up to one of Black Mirror's most acclaimed episodes.
"Responding to a world that's become just as technologically anxious as one of its speculative horror stories, Black Mirror refreshingly tacks toward more humanistic and hopeful tales in a superb return to form," the critics consensus for Season 7 reads alongside its solid 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Season 7 putting Black Mirror back on solid footing, there are naturally some high expectations for what Brooker has planned next. With production already underway, it hopefully it won't be too long before we get our first glimpse at Season 8.