‘Black Mirror’ creator defends series against ‘frustrating’ backlash: It was never ‘Tech Is Bad’ show

“Black Mirror” isn’t just about the dangers of technology, according to creator Charlie Brooker.

The Netflix showrunner has responded to backlash from fans that season 6 of ‘Black Mirror’ has dropped its central theme of warning audiences about the pitfalls of technology.

“It was definitely a conscious decision to slightly flip what the show is,” Brooker said Radar games. “It was interesting to reset things like that. It was a palate cleanser and means you’re approaching all of the other episodes from a slightly different angle.

Brooker added, “There was a slight danger of people bracketing (the series) as the ‘tech is bad’ show — and I found that a little frustrating in part because I always felt like, ‘ Well, the show isn’t saying technology is bad, the show is saying people are messed up.’ So, you know, ‘Do it right!’”

Brooker emphasized the “media commentary and satire” in season six as well as the emphasis on personal image, identity and perception.

“I guess parts of it are about (the) pain of a real-life thing becoming some kind of true crime documentary, like ‘Loch Henry,’ or something more playful, like ‘Joan is Awful,’ which is a nightmare existential, but it’s also about identity and control and all that beeswax,” Brooker continued. “On Netflix, they’re in reverse order of how they were written, because ‘Demon 79’, which I co-wrote with Bisha K. Ali – which I think is great – we wrote it as ‘Red Mirror.’ I was almost thinking, ‘OK, let’s imagine that’s a complement to Black Mirror.’”

Season 6 of “Black Mirror” is now streaming on Netflix. Read IndieWire’s review of the new episodes here, and see where they stack up among the series overall here.