Netflix has announced that Black Mirror will return in 2025. The seventh season of the sci-fi anthology series will consist of six new episodes, one of which will be a sequel to the Season 4 classic, "USS Callister."
For those in need of a refresher, "USS Callister" starred Jesse Plemons as Robert Daly, a brilliant but troubled programmer who co-founded a popular massively multiplayer online game. Bitter over the lack of recognition from his coworkers, he creates a Star Trek-esque simulation within the game. Acting as captain of the USS Callister starship, Daly orders around his crew of sentient digital clones which have been created using the DNA of his co-workers.
As Netfilx spoiled in the announcement of Black Mirror Season 7, things don't quite work out for Daly by the end of the episode.
"Captain Robert Daly may have died in the original episode, but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning…" the streamer teased.
Netflix released a brief teaser for the upcoming seventh season which featured some references to USS Callister but didn't reveal much else.
The six episodes will be the most released in a season since Season 4 back in 2017. Following that season, Netflix released Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, an interactive film where viewers make decisions for the main character.
Following Bandersnatch, Netflix released a three-episode season 5 which featured guest stars Anthony Mackie in "Striking Vipers" and Miley Cyrus in "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too".
The series then went on hiatus for three years before returning for its sixth season in 2023. Season six also featured a number of high-profile actors, including Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, and Zazie Beetz.
Season 6 was rated 78% on Rotten Tomatoes which is below the earlier seasons, but also higher than both Bandersnatch (74%) and Season 5 (66%). Despite the generally favorable reviews from critics, both seasons appeared to be a miss with general audiences with Season 2 rated 52% and Season 6 rated 43%.
"With a yield of installments that range from instant classic to woefully undercooked, Black Mirror's sixth volume indicates a series that's no longer on the bleeding edge of sci-fi but hardly resting on its lofty laurels," the critics' consensus reads for Season 6.
Perhaps a return to the USS Callister will help right the ship.