Black Mirror Creator Understands the Last Thing We Need Right Now Is More Black Mirror

Between the pig fucking and what happened to poor Domhnall Gleeson, I cannot say I’ve seen all that much of the Black Mirror canon, as its dystopian glimpses have always made me more anxious than entertained, perhaps because they are a bit too reality-adjacent. In the Twilight Zone, at least I can take comfort in the fact that I don’t wear glasses and medicate myself to sleep on planes, and therefore would never have many of the problems faced in that series’ particular brand of slightly altered reality.

And while I am largely unable to enjoy the series under the best of circumstances, the people who would watch Black Mirror now, in this bleak moment in history, are most likely the types to put their arms in the air during roller coaster rides so that the experience feels more like authentic death. Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker agrees with my assessment that just now, most of us scaredy cats need less dystopia-specific existential dread rather than more, which is why he is putting writing the show on the back burner, according to Indiewire (via an interview with Radio Times):

“At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on any on of those [‘Black Mirror’ episodes],” Brooker said.

While we wait to see what we will and will not be able to stomach in the future, Brooker is working on writing some comedy, which seems like a safe bet.