Charlie Brooker has confirmed a long-standing theory about his series Black Mirror, saying that the upcoming fourth season of the now Netflix original series will “explicitly” confirm the thoughts of those who think the episodes in the show are all part of one shared universe.
From the episode 'Arkangel', coming in Black Mirror S4 / Credit: Netflix
In the past, Easter Eggs in various episodes have linked them together, but rather than those just being a nod to one another, it would appear they were present because they are actually in the same world.
Speaking with Digital Spy, Brooker said: “It does actually now seem to imply that it is all a shared universe.”
He continued: “[Season 3 episode] San Junipero proved that the show doesn’t just have to be depressing and horrible. Which isn’t to say it’s sunshine and rainbows now, but we are certainly playing with the tone a little more.”
Explaining what that meant for the episodes, the creator said there would be some “more comedic” episodes, but also some of the “most horrible” the series has ever seen.
In the past, Brooker has actually been against a shared universe, but in an interview earlier this year with The Hollywood Reporter, he did say that he’d opened his mind about changing that.
He said at the time: “It always used to be that it’s ust a bit of fun. But then sometimes we’ve done some things where we did explicitly refer to other episodes. I think the rule is that when a character says something that explicitly refers to something else, it’s canonical. Also, they follow the same dream universe. That’s the other thing I tend to say.”
Black Mirror season 4 comes exclusively to Netflix on Friday, December 29. Seasons 1-3 of the show are available on the streaming platform now.
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