Entertainment
10 Years Later, ‘Black Mirror’s Best Episode Is Getting Its Own Spin-Off
In 2016, a fan favorite Black Mirror episode was released on Netflix. For those who haven’t seen this show, it’s a science fiction anthology series exploring technology-related topics and scenarios. 10 years later, this episode will return in an upcoming special release.
“San Junipero” is the fourth episode of Black Mirror Season 3, directed by Owen Harris. In this episode, a simulated reality called San Junipero is showcased, where people can relive different years. It’s also a digital afterlife for those who consent to “upload their consciousness to the cloud.” The episode follows two women, Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis), who enters San Junipero for the first time, and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who both eventually fall in love. Since its release, the episode has been highly praised and won several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Television Movie”. Now, fans can relive what made this episode great thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Black Mirror‘s “San Junipero” will be adapted into a graphic novel by Twisted Comics. The Kickstarter campaign had a goal of £15,000 (~$20,000 USD) and, according to Polygon, reached it in less than 48 hours. As of writing, 720 backers have donated nearly £46,000 (~$61,517 USD). “San Junipero” isn’t the only Black Mirror episode getting a graphic novel adaptation. Back in 2024, it was reported that Twisted Comics would produce comic books based on the popular anthology series.
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Other Black Mirror Episodes To Watch If You Like “San Junipero”
Since its release in 2016, “San Junipero” received a high 92% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and an IMDb score of 8.5. The episode’s popularity stems from its LGBT+ representation and its happy-ending love story. It also gained praise for its visuals, which capture each of the different years it features.
Since Black Mirror is an anthology, you don’t need to watch previous episodes to know what’s going on, as they’re all standalone titles. Fortunately, the series has provided other episodes if you like “San Junipero.” The first is the Season 7 episode “Hotel Reverie,” where an actress named Brandy Friday (Issa Rae) is cast to play the lead role for a remake of the 1940s romance film, Hotel Reverie, where she interacts with a digital replica of Dorothy Chambers (Emma Corrin), an actress who plays Clara in the movie, who suddenly gain consciousness after a mishap during production.
Another episode worth watching is “Hang the DJ,” a Season 4 episode that also features a love story with a happy ending. The episode follows Frank (Joe Cole) and Amy (Georgina Campbell), who are matched by a device called “Coach” for a set period, then paired with other people until the device finds their perfect match. They eventually are matched again and decide not to find out when their pairings expire, due to a series of short flings and terrible matches.
Black Mirror is available to stream on Netflix.
- Release Date
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December 4, 2011
- Network
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Channel 4, Netflix
- Directors
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Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
- Writers
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Jesse Armstrong