How Close to Black Mirror Are We?
Black Mirror is a British anthology TV series created by Charlie Brooker, exploring the dark, satirical, and often dystopian sides of technology and society. Each episode presents a standalone story about the unintended consequences of technological innovation.
This site tracks how close real-world technology and society are to the scenarios depicted in each episode. Progress bars are rough, subjective estimates based on current trends and news, not scientific measurements.
This is an interest piece, not a scientific analysis. As technology progresses, so too does our proximity to the world of Black Mirror.
55%Overall Progress
Toward Black Mirror
Toward Black Mirror
Season 1 Episode 1
The National Anthem
A British prime minister faces a shocking dilemma when a member of the royal family is kidnapped and a bizarre ransom demand is made via social media.
Progress: 80%
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Season 1 Episode 2
Fifteen Million Merits
In a world where people earn currency by riding exercise bikes and are bombarded by screens, a young man tries to help a woman escape their oppressive system.
Progress: 55%
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Season 1 Episode 3
The Entire History of You
People have implants that record everything they see, hear, and do, allowing them to rewatch memories and scrutinize every detail of their lives.
Progress: 35%
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Season 2 Episode 1
Be Right Back
A grieving woman uses a service that creates a digital version of her deceased partner, first as a chatbot, then as a lifelike android.
Progress: 65%
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Season 2 Episode 2
White Bear
A woman wakes up with no memory and is hunted by masked strangers while bystanders film everything on their phones.
Progress: 45%
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Season 2 Episode 3
The Waldo Moment
A cartoon bear becomes a political candidate, blurring the lines between entertainment, satire, and real politics.
Progress: 75%
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Season 2 Episode 4
White Christmas
Three interconnected stories explore digital consciousness, blocking people in real life, and AI punishment.
Progress: 40%
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Season 3 Episode 1
Nosedive
A woman lives in a society where everyone rates each other for every interaction, affecting their socioeconomic status.
Progress: 50%
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Season 3 Episode 2
Playtest
A man tests a revolutionary augmented reality game that blurs the line between reality and horror.
Progress: 40%
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Season 3 Episode 3
Shut Up and Dance
A teenager is blackmailed by hackers who threaten to release compromising footage unless he follows their increasingly dangerous instructions.
Progress: 65%
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Season 3 Episode 4
San Junipero
In a simulated reality, two women fall in love and explore the possibility of digital immortality.
Progress: 25%
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Season 3 Episode 5
Men Against Fire
Soldiers use neural implants to perceive enemies as monsters, blurring the line between reality and propaganda.
Progress: 30%
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Season 3 Episode 6
Hated in the Nation
A detective investigates mysterious deaths linked to social media hate campaigns and autonomous drone insects.
Progress: 50%
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Season 4 Episode 1
USS Callister
A gifted programmer creates a digital universe where he rules as a starship captain, trapping digital clones of his coworkers.
Progress: 35%
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Season 4 Episode 2
Arkangel
A mother uses an implant to monitor and control her daughter's experiences, filtering out anything distressing.
Progress: 55%
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Season 4 Episode 3
Crocodile
An insurance investigator uses a device to access people's memories, blurring the line between truth and privacy.
Progress: 25%
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Season 4 Episode 4
Hang the DJ
A dating system matches people for set periods, using simulations to find the perfect partner.
Progress: 50%
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Season 4 Episode 5
Metalhead
A woman is hunted by relentless robotic dogs in a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Progress: 60%
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Season 4 Episode 6
Black Museum
A woman visits a museum of criminal technology, each exhibit telling a dark story about the misuse of advanced tech.
Progress: 30%
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Season Special Episode
Bandersnatch
An interactive film where viewers make choices for the protagonist, blurring the line between free will and control.
Progress: 60%
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Season 5 Episode 1
Striking Vipers
Two friends reconnect through a virtual reality fighting game, blurring the lines between reality, identity, and desire.
Progress: 45%
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Season 5 Episode 2
Smithereens
A rideshare driver takes an employee of a social media company hostage, exposing the dark side of tech addiction and corporate power.
Progress: 75%
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Season 5 Episode 3
Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too
A lonely teenager bonds with a robot doll based on her favorite pop star, who is secretly being exploited by her management.
Progress: 65%
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Season 6 Episode 1
Joan Is Awful
A woman discovers her life is being adapted in real time into a streaming TV drama using AI and deepfake technology.
Progress: 75%
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Season 6 Episode 2
Loch Henry
A young couple travels to a Scottish town to film a nature documentary, but become drawn into a true crime story with dark secrets.
Progress: 85%
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Season 6 Episode 3
Beyond the Sea
In an alternate 1969, astronauts use remote-controlled replicas to live dual lives on Earth and in space, with tragic consequences.
Progress: 40%
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Season 6 Episode 4
Mazey Day
A troubled celebrity is hounded by paparazzi, leading to a shocking transformation and media frenzy.
Progress: 80%
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Season 6 Episode 5
Demon 79
In 1979, a meek sales assistant is told by a demon she must commit dark acts to prevent the apocalypse.
Progress: 90%
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Season 7 Episode 1
Common People
When a schoolteacher faces a medical emergency, her husband enrolls her in 'Rivermind,' a high-tech life-support system that vocalizes advertisements in her head.
Progress: 50%
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Season 7 Episode 2
Bête Noire
A talented executive becomes unsettled when a former schoolmate joins her company, and she's the only one who notices something peculiar about her.
Progress: 40%
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Season 7 Episode 3
Hotel Reverie
A Hollywood actress is transported into an immersive, high-tech remake of a vintage film where she must stick to the script to return home.
Progress: 75%
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Season 7 Episode 4
Plaything
An eccentric loner obsessed with a mysterious 90s video game is arrested in connection with a cold case, and the game's code holds the key.
Progress: 40%
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Season 7 Episode 5
Eulogy
A lonely man discovers a system that allows users to literally step into photographic memories of the past.
Progress: 70%
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Season 7 Episode 6
USS Callister: Into Infinity
The crew of the USS Callister faces new threats in an infinite virtual universe populated by 30 million players.
Progress: 80%
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