Latest news with #JoanisAwful
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Black Mirror season 7: all the Easter eggs you might have missed
Black Mirror excels at delivering short-sharp shocks of technological anxiety – what if our phones had it in for us or it was only possible to live your best life in virtual reality? But along with the tart taste of 21st-century digital dread, series creator Charlie Brooker has been careful to sweeten the formula with the occasional delectable treat. These are the 'Easter eggs' discreetly tucked into the scripts and which generally refer back to previous episodes. The latest season is no different: here are some of those playful references stirred into the misanthropic mix. And yes, there will be spoilers! Common People At the start of the episode, Rashida Jones's Amanda is teaching her class about 'autonomous drone bees' – the same self-replicating artificial insects introduced in season three's Hated in the Nation. Jones, of course, wrote the script for another season three instalment, Nosedive. Later, the The Juniper lodge where Amanda and husband Mike (Chris O'Dowd) spend their anniversaries is a nod towards the series three tearjerker episode, San Junipero – though the storylines do not otherwise intersect. The couple's anniversary is soundtrack by Irma Thomas' Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) – a favourite of Black Mirror that was sung by Jessica Brown Findlay's Abi in 15 Million Merits (season one) and which played in the background Joan is Awful from 2023. Further in, when Mike is shaming himself for cash on Dum Dummies, one of the users goading him is named I_AM_Waldo, which refers to the season two episode, The Waldo Moment, where a foul-mouthed cartoon character is elected to high office. When Amanda and Mike meet Rivermind executive Gaynor, the office for 'Skillane Legal' can be seen across the hall. The law firm featured in Joan is Awful and is named after Victoria Skillane, the protagonist in series two's White Bear. Common People also foreshadows the next episode, Bête Noire, which takes place at confectionery manufacturer Ditta – one of the businesses Amanda plugs when adverts are added to her plan. Elsewhere, the fictional silent movie Hotel Reverie – which pops up later in the season – is playing in a cinema that the couple walk past. Bête Noire Maria's (Siena Kelly) boyfriend used to work at Barnie's – a fast food chain previously referenced in White Christmas, Shut Up and Dance, Metalhead and Joan is Awful. The teacher with whom Verity (Rosy McEwen) is wrongly accused of having an affair is a 'Mr Kendrick' – might he be related to the psychologist Mr Kendrick, played by Michael Cera in 2014's White Christmas? The lobby of Ditta contains a literal 'White Bear' Easter egg – referring to the season two episode. White Bear is referenced again in the fact that Maria (Siena Kelly) and Verity went to Colworth Manor High – Colworth being the town where Channel 4 filmed White Bear. Verity's LinkedIn profile references to WayHaven Travel, the hotel chain from season three's Shut Up and Dance. In one chilling scene, Verity drains an entire carton of almond milk and then blames Maria. The brand of the milk is Raiman – the name of the main character in series three's Men Against Fire (who reveals that his family owned a farm). Oh and Ditta's HQ is opposite the offices of Tuckersoft, the video game maker which pops up in the interactive episode Bandersnatch and later in series seven. Hotel Reverie When Issa Rae's movie actress Brandy is researching silent screen star Dorothy Chambers (Emma Corrine), she goes on YouTube – where a video about Dorothy has been uploaded by 'Pia and Davis', the podcasters from 2023's Loch Henry. A sidebar video references another season six episode, Demon 79 – 'Demon 79: The Real Scary Story of a Cult Classic'. At one point we see Brandy's (Issa Rae) manager preparing for a meeting with Streamberry – Black Mirror's 'in-universe' version of Netflix, as featured in season six's Joan is Awful. There is also a shot of the manager playing the video game Balatro – not quite an Easter egg, but a game Black Mirror showrunner Charlie Brooker has described as 'the most addictive thing ever created'. When Kimmy (Awkafina) and Judith (Harriet Walter) discuss rebooting Hotel Reverie, the posters in the background reference The White Bear and Haven Green, which was the working title of this season's Black Mirror. Brandy's address in Hollywood is Junipero Drive – another San Junipero nudge. Later, a computer programme Jack (Ted Lasso's Charlie Hiscock), wears a Space Fleet shirt – a call back to the Black Mirror universe's version of Star Trek. There is also a reference to previous Dorothy Chambers classics – St Juniper (San Junipero again) and My Kingdom for a Pig, a wink towards the notorious first ever Black Mirror, The National Anthem, where Rory Kinnear plays a Prime Minister forced to do something rude with a farmyard animal on national television. Plaything The entire episode is a call back to 2018's interactive special, Bandersnatch – albeit with updated references to early 1990s PC and Amiga gaming, rather than the ZX Spectrum/Dragon 32 universe of the earlier episode. At one point, Will Poulter's Colin Ritman is revealed to have gone crazy and started 'ranting about a Basilisk' – potentially a reference to the 'Roko's Basilisk' thought experiment, which some Black Mirror fans believe Brooker winked at in season four's Black Museum, where the protagonist is named Rolo (you could argue that 'Roko' is an amalgam of 'Brooker' and 'Rolo'). As for Roko's Basilisk – it is a wacky hypothesis which bubbled within internet discussion forums, which argues that a super intelligent computer in the far future might travel back in time to 'punish' people who knew that it could be built but who didn't actively contribute towards its creation. Sounds like a Black Mirror elevator pitch. In Ritman's office there is a framed picture of Waldo – the evil cartoon bear from The Waldo Incident. And we learn that Tuckersoft is working on Striking Vipers II – a reference to the video game in Striking Vipers. Eulogy Paul Giamatti's character is able to 'enter' old photographs by applying an 'experiencer disk' – the same super-advanced VR tech that previously featured in San Junipero, USS Callister and Striking Vipers. The AI he encounters, and which is based on his old girlfriend's daughter, resembles a 'cookie' – the digitally-replicated consciousness of a person who featured in White Christmas (though it is not referred to as such). USS Callister: Into Infinity When Nanette (Cristin Milioti) arrives at the virtual basement of incel mega-villain Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), we see a video game box with the logo of SaitoGemu – the tech company that featured in series three's Playtest. There is also a reference to Miley Cyrus' pop star Ashley O, from Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, when we hear gamer Pixie (Iolanthe) listening to one of her songs. Robert (Jesse Plemons) offers Nanette (Cristin Milioti) a box of chocolate milk made by Raiman - the food company also mentioned in Men Against Fire. Demon 79's Anjana Vasan and Paapa Essiedu are among the gamers attempt to destroy the USS Callister. Later, a news bulletin has the logo of USN – Black Mirror's version of CNN or Sky News. And when the 'real' Nanette is knocked down she is taken to St Juniper Hospital – yet another San Junipero reference (don't you think that's more than enough for the time being, Netflix?). The news ticker at the end contains several callbacks to season seven. 'Hotel Reverie reboot hits Streamberry' – is a hat tip to Hotel Reverie and Joan is Awful. 'Thronglets 2 launches to critical acclaim' is about the video game from Plaything and 'Rivermind CTO stands down' has to do with the wicked medical corporation in Common People. The National Anthem also surfaces again – 'Former UK PM Michael Callow enters Celebrity Vet School' is about the pig-fancying PM from series one. Finally, 'Mysterious talisman found in plane wreckage' is a call-back to Demon 79. Black Mirror season 7 is on Netflix now
Buzz Feed
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Charlie Brooker On Technology Developments, AI, And Why "Black Mirror" Still Mixes New Talent With Big Stars
It's finally that time of the year again. A new season of Black Mirror is upon us! Netflix Another season packed full of familiar and new faces to scare us into adjusting our moral compass as technology develops faster than our brains can comprehend. The newest season of Black Mirror features stars such as Paul Giamatti, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Emma Corrin, Peter Capaldi, Rashida Jones, and many more. Despite the A-list cast, it keeps the same tone, having the same creator from the beginning: Charlie Brooker. We sat down with Charlie Brooker and producer Jessica Rhoades to discuss the new season, tech giants taking inspiration from the iconic show, and the new approach to casting. Black Mirror is basically a British institution now, since it first launched back in 2011 Charlie Brooker: 250 years ago Haha, so much has changed since then, and so much has changed in tech. Technology is such an integral part of the series. Has there ever been a moment where you've had an idea that seemed quite far-fetched at the time, but then you read about it and you're like 'wait a minute'? Both: Yeah, haha Charlie: Yes, and there's even an idea which I keep picking away at that I want to do but I haven't done yet, and I keep slightly worrying, 'Will this look like a retrospective documentary by the time we do it?' Quite often we've done episodes that I think, 'Oh that's a long way away from happening,' and then like two weeks later, suddenly something happens. Last season, we did an episode, Joan is Awful, which was about a sort of AI-generated video, on some level, and I don't think that at that point, I'd quite seen how quickly it would get like photorealistic. Jessica Rhoades: But we did know we had to do it last season. Charlie: We knew that we had to get this out quickly Jessica: You're always deciding because Charlie has so many ideas, and towards the end of the season, he's writing as we're shooting. So, at the end of the season, it is the first time that you are kind of both looking at the season you have and then, hopefully – touch wood – projecting the season in the future. So every once in a while, at the end of the season, he's like 'this idea or this idea?' and I think Joan was one where we were like we better go now because next season might be too late. Charlie: And this season… I suspect Common People, I suspect the tech in that will be sooner than – even though it's quite far fetched, I suspect the tech is probably happening and about to be launched. Netflix Have you ever thought that one of your episodes has potentially inspired tech? Charlie: Well, occasionally, I know that it has. Jessica: A few people are trying to sell something right now that I think is pretty Charlie Brooker. Charlie: Yes, well I've seen somebody who – this was a couple years ago now – when somebody was doing a sort of AI like chatbot for grieving people, and they said in some interview, 'I watched Be Right Back episode of Black Mirror and thought that looks like a good idea' and I thought, 'I don't think that in the episode we show that necessarily benign a good idea' there's certainly a nuance to that. I can see if somebody's grieving and they derive comfort from something, I don't want to judge them, but equally, there are potential downsides there. They probably only watched up until halfway and thought to ignore the lessons... Charlie: They switched it off! They turned it off halfway through to work on their business plan Before anything went wrong, they were like: 'Okay, got that idea.' Charlie: Haha, bastards monetising my content! Back when the show first launched in 2011, we used to see a lot of new faces, brand new actors were being brought to the screen; fast forward to now, we're getting a lot of household names. Now, when you're writing episodes or start casting, do you already have names in mind, or are you still casting like you were originally? Charlie: Sometimes it's a mix. I mean, honestly, when you're writing, you kind of cast people in your head because it helps you to write. They often aren't the person, but sometimes, occasionally, they have been the person who's actually in the episode. I think we've got a real mix because we've got some really big stars this season, and they're there because they're fucking great actors, but we've also got some people who are possibly less well known, who are emerging talents. I think that's also a very important bit to the show's DNA that I think sometimes gets somewhat overlooked. I hear people saying, 'Oh, it's all celebrities now' well no, fuck off, no it isn't. We've got loads of actors that people aren't aware of yet, but will be tomorrow. I think there's a good mix! Charlie: I think there's a good mix. I'm glad you've said that. I got defensive and angry about it for no reason. I'll back you in the comments! It's a fantastic mix and Black Mirror has always done quite well to bring out great new talent that you end up seeing on screen for years after; it's an attribute to the show. However, bringing in the big names sometimes matches the themes, like in Hotel Reverie, it makes sense to have big names like Emma Corrin because of what it represents. Jessica: Well, thank you ! Charlie: Thank you for that! Netflix All epsiodes of Black Mirror Season 7 are on Netflix from April 10th!
