Charlie Brooker is best known to Netflix audiences as the creator of Black Mirror, so why isn't his upcoming mockumentary Death to 2020 part of its universe? The upcoming Netflix movie is being promoted as a comedy, and Black Mirror is known for its biting, dark humor. Brooker likely could have made Death to 2020 work under the Black Mirror umbrella, but there's a specific reason he didn't.
Black Mirror ultimately uses a different story in each episode to spread the warning that technology will be the downfall of society. Every episode in the horror anthology series typically ends on an incredibly bleak note. Nothing is really known about the plot of Death to 2020 beyond the fact that the movie follows a group of commentators bidding farewell to the worst year in recent memory. Each Brooker property seems to share notable similarities.
Despite that, there's one important reason Death to 2020 wasn't released as a Black Mirror episode. Brooker simply didn't want to make Black Mirror season 6 in 2020. He decided his show chronicling humanity's downfall was the last thing people needed this year, and opted to shift gears toward a lighter note instead.
The coronavirus pandemic upended society in nearly every way possible. Therefore, Brooker decided that 2020 wasn't the time to share more stories chronicling humanity's downward spiral. In a cruel twist of irony, the world has become too depressing for Black Mirror. Brooker decided it was more appropriate to return to his comedy roots this year, subtly teasing the release of Death to 2020 months before it was even announced.
While the coronavirus pandemic and 2020 US election would be the perfect backdrop to frame a Black Mirror episode, Brooker made the right call by temporarily stepping back. The whole point of Black Mirror is to make the audience uncomfortable and encourage them to really take a close look at themselves. Releasing a story like that in the middle of a shockingly terrible year would come off as intentionally triggering the audience. Black Mirror constantly surprises its audience instead by subverting expectations. In a way, Death to 2020 fills that void this year. Who would ever expect Brooker to offer his audience comedy instead of bleak despair? After all, his stories rarely boast a happy ending.
That doesn't mean fans shouldn't expect more Black Mirror in the future. However, because of COVID-19, Black Mirror will likely look different moving forward. Technology will always be a crucial element of the show, but the events of 2020 may very well inspire Brooker and his team to expand the show beyond those themes. The hit Netflix show could very easily start to explore the other ways in which society does harm to itself, such as racism or the stigma on mental health. But while fans wait to see the ways in which Brooker plans to challenge them with future episodes of Black Mirror, they can escape with the comedy of Death to 2020.
