Black Mirror bosses leave Netflix production company – but what does this mean for the hit show?

At the time, it was said to be a major step in the right direction for Netflix underlining their commitment to working with British creators, with the agreement mounting to a staggering $100 million, as reported by Deadline.

The agreement was structured over five years and it's now said to be over, with Brooker and Jones deciding to step away.

The deal meant that both Brooker and Jones were exclusively working with Netflix and within the deal, produced Toxic Town and the mockumentary series Death To... and Cunk On.

So now, the pair are technically free to go and work elsewhere or create a new production company away from the streamer.

While we're sure there are plenty of exciting things in the pipeline for them both, many Black Mirror fans will undoubtedly be left wondering what this means for the future of the hit anthology series.

The seventh season premiered earlier this year and is expected to compete in the Emmys awards run in a couple of months (full nominations are released in just five days), but with an eighth season having not yet been confirmed by Netflix, what does this mean for its future?

Well, thankfully 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".

While viewership for season 7 was down compared to season 6, the latest season did achieve really strong numbers in its first week on the streamer, flying up to the number 1 spot and managing to secure 10.6 million views in its first week of release.

Black Mirror was of course a hit series in its own right before its release on Netflix, with many fans continuing to argue that its authenticity as part of Channel 4 was what set it apart in the first place.

The first two seasons and The White Christmas special originally aired on Channel 4, with the series then moving over to Netflix for its return in 2016.

Since then, regular seasons have been coming our way with all manner of mind-bending stories and star-studded casts.

Read more:

• Black Mirror's USS Callister sequel features shock return – Charlie Brooker explains new approach to character
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Originally created by Brooker, something tells us the series will remain to be one of the defining works under his belt and so, we couldn't imagine that the series would cease to exist now that Brooker has left Broke & Bones – or that he'd ever take a step back from it.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com on the release of season 7, Brooker said of the show's future: "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."

He even revealed that he already has some future stories "pretty much fully baked and ready to go", while there are also others where he's "got a chunk of the story, not quite the concept".

So realistically, the future of Black Mirror still remains bright, even if Netflix haven't officially renewed it yet or if there are some major shake-ups behind the scenes.

All we can say at this point is we're sure announcements will be coming our way in due course, so we've just got to keep our eyes peeled and continue crossing our fingers for more of those chillingly dystopian tales.

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

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