About this project

How Close to Black Mirror Are We? is an independent, unofficial project that tracks how far real-world technology and society have moved toward the futures imagined in each episode of Charlie Brooker's anthology series. We cover all 34 episodes and specials, from The National Anthem (2011) to the latest season.

How we research each episode

For every episode we identify the core technologies and social dynamics it depicts, then look for the closest real-world equivalents: shipping products, peer-reviewed research, legislation, court cases and reporting from outlets such as Reuters, MIT Technology Review, Nature, Wired, The Verge and primary company and government sources. Every claim on an episode page links to a source so you can check it yourself. We re-review pages as the technology moves.

What the progress score means

Each episode gets a progress score from 0 to 100. It is a reasoned editorial estimate, not a scientific measurement. A high score means the episode's premise is largely real today (for example, webcam sextortion or the true-crime industry); a low score means the core idea — such as uploading a human consciousness — remains firmly science fiction. We weigh how much of the episode's mechanism actually exists, at what scale, and how widely it is deployed. Reasonable people will disagree on the exact numbers, and that's part of the fun.

Who makes it

The site is maintained by a small editorial team of technology and pop-culture writers. We are not affiliated with Netflix, Charlie Brooker or the producers of Black Mirror. Episode images are used for identification and commentary under fair use, with attribution on each page. Spotted an error or have a better source? We'd genuinely like to hear it — see our contact page.

This is an interest piece, not a scientific analysis. As technology progresses, so too does our proximity to the world of Black Mirror.