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Your essential guide to the upcoming sixth season of Charlie Brooker's twisted anthology drama Black Mirror

- REBECCA MAHONEY

PREVIEW SCI-FI

Black Mirror

Netflix

Our worst nightmares are about to become a stark reality once again as Charlie Brooker’s dystopian sci-fi anthology Black Mirror is finally returning for a sixth season, featuring five new mind-bending episodes loaded with huge stars and uniquely unsettling themes.

Coming to Netflix this June, the brilliantly observed series created by Brooker and his long-time collaborator Annabel Jones boasts a top-notch cast, including Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Frida star Salma Hayek, Penny Dreadful actor Josh Hartnett, Schitt’s Creek favourite Annie Murphy and many more.

Viewers can expect Brooker’s satirical, anxiety-laden and often frightening stand-alone stories to explore the darker aspects of society and the human condition through technological advancement. However, Brooker says this latest batch of episodes promises a fresh approach with ‘more variety than ever before’.

‘I’ve always felt that Black Mirror should feature stories that are entirely distinct from one another and keep surprising people, as well as myself, or else what’s the point?’ says Brooker, 52, who’s also known for his sardonic series Screenwipe, zombie horror Dead Set, plus animated film Cat Burglar.

‘Black Mirror should be a series that can’t be easily defined, and can keep reinventing itself. So, partly as a challenge and partly to keep things fresh for both me and the viewer, I began this season by deliberately upending some of my own core assumptions about what to expect.