Black Mirror creator "disappointed" Netflix didn't object to parody episode
"There wasn’t any resistance to it, that I could tell."
You can always count on Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker to cause a stir - so it's no real surprise that he's written an episode for season 6 parodying Netflix, the very streaming service his show airs on.
Season 6 episode Joan Is Awful, starring Salma Hayek, features streaming service Streamberry, which looks a lot like Netflix.
However, according to Brooker, there was no resistance to his plans from Netflix - something he found a little "disappointing".
The writer recalled: "We just said, 'We’ve got this streaming platform called Streamberry in this episode… can we make it look like Netflix?'"
He added to Empire: "They went away and came back quite quickly — weirdly quickly — and said, 'Yeah, okay.' There wasn’t any resistance to it, that I could tell. Which is a bit disappointing, because it would be good to be able to say, 'I just did it anyway, because I’m an anarchist!' But no.”
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Brooker went on to say: “That episode is quite meta and weird anyway. It’s one thing me watching it in the edit, but the thought that people are going to be watching it on the Netflix platform itself ? That’s quite bonkers.”
Joan is Awful is one of the five episodes set to be released in Black Mirror season 6 with a synopsis reading: "An average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life — in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek Pinault."
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Joining Hayek on the cast for the episode are stars including Annie Murphy, Michael Cera and Ben Barnes.
Black Mirror season 6 will be available to stream on Netflix on 15th June 2023.
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