Black Mirror season 8: Release date speculation and latest news

With season 7 of Black Mirror having returned to our screens last year on suitably top form, fans of the sci-fi series have been waiting patiently for any news regarding another instalment. Well, our dystopian dreams have now been answered as series creator Charlie Brooker has now confirmed that season 8 is a-go!

Season 7 clearly went down a storm with viewers, with this past run of episodes marking the first time that Black Mirror had been recognised at the Golden Globes. Whilst the series didn't pick up any gongs on the night, Brooker did sit down with Netflix's Tudum ahead of the event to confirm that Black Mirror will be returning.

He said: "Hopefully it’ll be more Black Mirror than ever."

Brooker went on to tease the show's future, saying: "Well, luckily it does have a future, so I can confirm that Black Mirror will return, just in time for reality to catch up with it. So, that’s exciting. That chunk of my brain has already been activated and is whirring away."

Season 7 was suitably lauded as a strong entry in the anthology series's history with episodes like Common People, Hotel Reverie and the sequel to USS Callister, continuing to prove that there's always something there for every fan to enjoy.

But what do we know about season 8 so far? Read on to find out more about the future of Black Mirror.

Will there be a Black Mirror season 8?

Black Mirror season 8 has officially been confirmed by series creator Charlie Brooker.

He told Tudum: “Black Mirror will return, and hopefully it’ll be more Black Mirror than ever."

The news comes as no real surprise to fans of the series, especially seeing as Brooker had previously expressed interest in continuing on his stranger-than-fiction vein of dystopian telly. Previously speaking to RadioTimes.com, Brooker said: "Nothing is off the table. I'll keep doing this until people get sick of it. Or me.

"Or if the world suddenly, overnight, completely improves into a utopia, and we have no need for this kind of entertainment anymore, because we're all so happy out in the wild, patting unicorns on the head."

When could Black Mirror season 8 be released?

Unlike a more straightforward serialised drama, Black Mirror doesn't just release a new season every one or two years.

The gap between seasons can vary, from one year (between seasons 3 and 4 in 2016 and 2017) to four (between seasons 5 and 6 in 2019 and 2023).

Whilst the show has now been renewed, the most likely wait time is about two years, with a Black Mirror season 8 potentially arriving in 2027.

That kind of timeline gives the creative team enough time to write, cast and film a new season. However, Booker previously said that he already had some future stories "pretty much fully baked and ready to go", while he's got others where he's "got a chunk of the story, not quite the concept".

How many episodes could there be in Black Mirror season 8?

Previous Black Mirror seasons lasted between three and six episodes, with most of the Netflix-era seasons being six episodes long.

With that in mind, a Black Mirror season 8 would almost certainly consist of six episodes.

But if the show's creators decide to make another experimental standalone special like the interactive film Bandersnatch, this could result in a shorter season, with the standalone special being released separately.

That's what happened with season 5 and Bandersnatch, which came out six months apart.

Who could star in Black Mirror season 8?

In the past, it wouldn't make much sense to speculate about the future cast of Black Mirror. As an anthology series, it could basically cast anyone.

However, with the arrival of the USS Callister sequel episode USS Callister: Into Infinity in season 7, we could see other Black Mirror characters return for a new chapter in their story.

Charlie Brooker has teased the possibility of releasing other sequel episodes, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "We’re now looking at old episodes and thinking, 'How could you revisit that idea?'"

He obviously didn't name any names, but a few fan-favourite episodes do spring to mind, like the romantic San Junipero. There are also some episodes whose established world-building could be explored even further, like White Bear or Fifteen Million Merits.

Here are some key cast members who could theoretically return:

• Yorkie - Mackenzie Davis (San Junipero)
• Kelly - Gugu Mbatha-Raw (San Junipero)
• Colin Ritman - Will Poulter (Bandersnatch)
• Victoria Skillane - Lenora Crichlow (White Bear)
• Bingham 'Bing' Madsen - Daniel Kaluuya (Fifteen Million Merits)

In terms of behind-the-scenes, there has been a slight shake-up as co-creators of Black Mirror, Brooker and Annabel Jones, have now left their Netflix-owned production company Broke & Bones. The pair founded the company five years ago after a landmark deal with the global streamer, which became the first of its kind for Netflix.

Despite some changes on that front, we know that Black Mirror continues to be a priority for Netflix, with the streamer said to be "committed" to the series. According to Deadline, "Brooker and Jones's exit from Broke & Bones is unlikely to change this".

What could Black Mirror season 8 be about?

To know what the eighth season of Black Mirror could be about would be to also have the power of knowing what Brooker could be thinking of cooking up – something clearly unguessable by the calibre of episodes that have thus far been released.

On the confirmation of season 8, Brooker said: "It’s a useful thought experiment when approaching a new story. I’ll often think of, 'Well, what haven’t we done yet, and what tone am I looking for? … Where does this track come on the album, and what musical direction are we going to go into?' We’ll find out. Very unlikely you’ll ever see a Black Mirror hoedown."

Brooker has said that this new instalment will be "more Black Mirror than ever" – but what exactly could that mean? Seeing as season 7 heralded a return to storyline form for many fans, the possibilities for stories, characters and parallels to the real world are quite literally endless.

Brooker did previously admit that he had needed a palette cleanser from the series and its representation of dystopia during the Covid pandemic. This led to a longer than usual break between seasons 5 and 6, with the latter season also being more experimental.

In fact, it was almost going to be a season entirely badged as Red Mirror, the branding used for the run's final episode Demon 79.

Brooker told The Hollywood Reporter: "I think it’s fair to say that last season started out as a different season entirely. It started out that they were all going to be Red Mirror stories — Red Mirror being a sort of horror brand. Then I came up with the idea for Joan Is Awful — annoyingly, in the middle of making the season — which was so Black Mirror."

Producer Jessica Rhoades added: "And it wasn’t going to wait. That episode had to happen last season."

Seeing as season 7 didn't have any Red Mirror episodes, we could hazard a guess and assume that maybe the format may make a return for season 8.

Is there a trailer for a potential Black Mirror season 8?

Given that the show has just been renewed, there is no trailer for Black Mirror season 8.

However, you can watch the trailer for season 7 here:

All seasons of Black Mirror are available to stream on Netflix.

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