After a four-year hiatus, Black Mirror is again. Season six is now on Netflix, together with the entire again catalog—together with one Christmas particular and an interactive movie.

The present, created by Charlie Brooker and producer Annabel Jones, is a contemporary tackle basic anthology sequence like The Twilight Zone. Through Brooker’s darkish, playful, and generally uplifting lens, the present examines the unintended methods know-how impacts our lives.

Because it’s an anthology sequence—through which every installment has new material and a barely completely different tone—every episode has its followers. And detractors. Picking the most effective of the most effective and the worst of the worst is hard. Nevertheless, we tried. Below is WIRED’s definitive rating of each episode of Black Mirror launched to date.

28. “Smithereens” (Season 5, Episode 2)

Black Mirror’s tackle a British police drama, “Smithereens” tells the story of Chris (Andrew Scott)—a person who blames social media for probably the most tragic second in his life. And that’s it. The paper-thin plot is simply sufficient to maintain this episode plodding from scene to scene, and regardless of being primarily based round a hostage scenario, the stakes by no means really feel significantly excessive. Think an episode of The Bill however with a bit little bit of “social media is bad” thrown in.

27. “White Bear” (Season 2, Episode 2)

Half disturbing zombie thriller and half slamming indictment of society’s hankering for public punishment, “White Bear” boasts some of the unpredictable twists of any Black Mirror episode. But the setup to get there may be brutal, a horror-inspired slog that lacks any emotional depth. In the ultimate tally, “White Bear” has just one hand to play, and it does so in a burst of violent catharsis.

26. “Men Against Fire” (Season 4, Episode 5)

Black Mirror is usually responsible of fixating on an fascinating concept or idea with out a entire story to assist it. “Men Against Fire” is such an episode. Its warning in regards to the potential misuse of know-how in warfare is legitimate and fascinating, however it’s exhausting to cowl in a 50-minute installment of TV. The ultimate twist is suitably bleak, in true Black Mirror custom, however you’ll be able to’t assist questioning in regards to the wider context of the story and its central character.

25. “The Waldo Moment” (Season 2, Episode 3)

Along with “The National Anthem,” this episode of Black Mirror took some time to line up with the occasions. Set within the midst of an election, “The Waldo Moment” tells the story of Jamie (Daniel Rigby), a comic behind a puerile animated bear who unexpectedly finds himself having an outsize impression on nationwide politics. Imagine Bo’ Selecta’s Avid Merrion operating for workplace and also you received’t be far off. At the time, this episode appeared to lack agency footing, and it tosses a couple of too many concepts into the air with out growing them. But following the election of a sure US president, it seems as prescient as any in Black Mirror‘s canon.

24. “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” (Season 5, Episode 3)

Brooker took on a wholly new style with this teen-drama-tinged rumination on vapid pop music, exploitative managers, and impressionable followers. Miley Cyrus performs Ashley, a pop star who has inexplicably had her persona downloaded into some futuristic dolls. Done proper, “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” might have been certainly one of Black Mirror’s greatest episodes but. But it fails to essentially grapple with the know-how in query, and it’s by no means clear whether or not the episode is an ironic touch upon teen movies or only a poor simulacrum of the style, with a “pop music is bad” argument tacked on.

23. “White Christmas” (2014 Special)

Despite Black Mirror’s success, among the best issues in regards to the present is its potential to forged relative unknowns in starring roles. You’ll see loads of recognizable faces, however you’re unlikely to know many names. Enter Mad Men’s Jon Hamm. A fan of the present from the beginning, Hamm needed to congratulate Brooker in individual. As a results of the assembly, Hamm was forged in a starring position for the present’s first (and solely) Christmas particular. Simply put, Hamm is just too well-known for Black Mirror. More frustratingly, the episode lacks a robust sufficient concept to carry its plot collectively. As a consequence, it feels disjointed, and the sensible ultimate plot twist arrives too late. But it’s higher on a second viewing.

22. “Bandersnatch” (2018 Interactive Film)

“Bandersnatch” is concurrently sensible and underwhelming. Brooker’s tackle choose-your-own journey TV has 5 endings dictated by the choices you make. At first, the novelty of controlling the story is thrilling, particularly because it takes quite a few darkish turns. The Nineteen Eighties setting is pitch-perfect, and there’s the kernel of a fantastic story in “Bandersnatch,” however finally the novelty overtakes the storytelling and proves why TV is greatest in a linear format.

21. “Demon 79” (Season 6, Episode 5)

Cowritten by Brooker and Bisha Okay. Ali, the author who penned Disney+’s Ms. Marvel sequence, “Demon 79” is billed as the primary “Red Mirror” episode—it’s extra horror than science fiction. Or horror-comedy. Or horror-fantasy. It’s exhausting to categorize this story of a store employee in Nineteen Seventies England who’s pressured to show to homicide to save lots of the world after unintentionally releasing a demon. It may need been higher off with out the Black Mirror tag.

20. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 6, Episode 3)

This one dragged. That’s ironic, as a result of it’s in regards to the tedium of long-distance house journey, with Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett taking part in astronauts on a years-long mission who can leap into their lives again house by transferring their consciousness into android replicas of themselves. When tragedy strikes, issues take a darkish flip, however that is slow-burn sci-fi, extra about human feelings and relationships than house journey. It wins factors again for a suitably unhinged cameo from Rory Culkin.

19. “Striking Vipers” (Season 5, Episode 1)

Probably the raunchiest Black Mirror episode, “Striking Vipers” begins with an intriguing premise—what occurs when VR intercourse is pretty much as good as the actual deal—however it fails to discover the tantalizing questions this raises about human sexuality. Its Street Fighter-style VR world, rendered in sensible online game shade, is good however falls flat after an anticlimactic ending that locks this courageous new world of intercourse again in its field.

18. “Metalhead” (Season 4, Episode 5)

Social media’s worry of these Boston Dynamics clips made manifest, “Metalhead” is stuffed with people on the run from murderous robotic canines roaming the countryside. The episode’s black-and-white model and route efficiently evoke basic horror movies. It’s tense, exhilarating, and genuinely scary, however the ultimate twist undercuts the episode’s menacing tone. Special point out should be product of the second a robotic canine picks up a kitchen knife and spins it menacingly.

17. “Playtest” (Season 3, Episode 2)

Charlie Brooker likes video video games. And “Playtest,” because the identify suggests, is all about video video games. One explicit recreation, the truth is: Resident Evil. There’s the genius Japanese recreation developer, the haunted home, a personality known as Redfield (Chris, not Claire), and even covers of Edge hidden within the background. Brooker’s familiarity with the subject material actually exhibits, with cultural nods and winks fastidiously blended right into a well-paced, ingenious plot. This is an actual love letter to the survival horror recreation style, informed with an expertly crafted dollop of Black Mirror gore and worry.

16. “Mazey Day” (Season 6, Episode 4)

This quick, sharp shock of an episode was impressed by a documentary about Britney Spears and follows a paparazzi photographer in mid-2000s Los Angeles on the hunt for a celeb who hasn’t been seen in weeks. It’s not significantly intelligent, however it’s schlocky, enjoyable, and troublesome to debate intimately with out giving the sport away.

15. “Hang the DJ” (Season 4, Episode 4)

“Hang the DJ” is good. It drops us right into a tightly managed world the place folks date by algorithm. You go on dates determined for you, eat meals chosen for you, and keep in relationships for a predetermined time period, which may very well be hours or years, all within the identify of discovering the proper match. Georgina Campbell and Joe Cole (of Peaky Blinders fame) make for likable protagonists, however the ending is considerably telegraphed. Whereas “San Junipero” touches on the advanced morality of loss of life and consent, “Hang the DJ” is a much less difficult however in the end feel-good 50 minutes.

14. “Fifteen Million Merits” (Season 1, Episode 2)

Aired in 2011, at a time when The X-Factor was at its cultural peak, this tackle the grim endgame for actuality tv hasn’t aged properly. Sure, the shrill caricature of Simon Cowell is entertaining, however the entire episode lacks the subtlety of Brooker’s most compelling morality performs. Black Mirror is at its greatest if you really feel complicit within the terrible scenes unfolding earlier than you. Unless you’re an enormous fan of make-it-or-break-it-style Saturday night time leisure, the drama of “Fifteen Million Merits” will really feel a bit overcooked.

13. “Arkangel” (Season 4, Episode 2)

The solely episode of Black Mirror’s first 4 seasons to be directed by a lady (make of that what you’ll), “Arkangel” is likely one of the least futuristic and, in consequence, most hard-hitting. Directed by Jodie Foster, it tells the straightforward story of a mom (Marie) who decides to implant a monitoring system in her daughter (Sara) to observe her well being and emotional state, and likewise to censor what her younger eyes can see. Unlike episodes that take a bounding leap of religion, “Arkangel” feels prefer it might occur proper now, which makes its ugly conclusion all of the extra chilling.

12. “Loch Henry” (Season 6, Episode 2)

Brooker informed WIRED that this episode was impressed by binging true crime throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, and it adheres carefully to the tropes of the style, with sweeping vistas and a mounting sense of dread. It’s about greater than ugly murders, although, and the darkish, devastating conclusion for 2 younger filmmakers and their investigation right into a infamous serial killer in distant Scotland lingers within the thoughts for a while.

11. “Joan Is Awful” (Season 6, Episode 1)

In the standout episode of the newest season, Black Mirror bites the hand that feeds: A mildly terrible younger girl will get house after a troublesome day at work to seek out that her life has been become content material on “Streamberry,” a Netflix-like leisure platform. From this barely flimsy premise, the episode builds right into a sharp examination of the content material machine, the AI apocalypse, and even quantum computing, with the sequence’ standard mixture of the satirical and the scatalogical, together with some real star turns.

10. “The Entire History of You” (Season 1, Episode 3)

Perhaps probably the most crushingly damaging of Black Mirror’s romantic tales—or, properly, tales that contain folks in a relationship—“The Entire History of You” is an actual gut-punch of an episode. As in most Black Mirror episodes, the world is recognizably our personal, other than one essential element. In this case, it’s that the majority people have been implanted with a “grain” that information every little thing they see and permits them to play again any reminiscence at will. This doesn’t result in good issues. Written by Jesse Armstrong—the creator of Peep Show and Succession—that is the one episode of Black Mirror not written or cowritten by Brooker. An unrelenting examination of know-how’s position in self-inflicted injury to our fragile human egos, issues on this episode begin off unhealthy and find yourself a lot, a lot worse.

9. “Crocodile” (Season 4, Episode 3)

An even moodier tackle the Scandi noir style, “Crocodile” is ready in a world the place insurance coverage firms faucet into folks’s recollections with a view to settle claims. Again, issues begin off unhealthy—with a hit-and-run accident—and spiral downward. Although the unique script had a person within the lead position, Andrea Riseborough stars as Mia, who finds her good life unraveling when previous misdeeds meet up with her. Shot in Iceland, with gorgeous pictures of huge open roads and lonely houses, this is likely one of the best-looking Black Mirror episodes, with a plot to match. The final scene, in basic Black Mirror model, undercuts the awfulness of all of it with only a contact of on-the-nose bleak comedy.

8. “Shut Up and Dance” (Season 3, Episode 3)

When did folks begin masking up the webcams on their laptops? It was positively a factor earlier than “Shut up and Dance,” however this darkly cynical episode little question impressed many to take precautions. The setup is straightforward sufficient: A youngster (Alex Lawler) is blackmailed by a hacker who recorded him masturbating. But his path quickly crosses with different victims of the hacker, all with their very own indiscretions to cover. Events develop at breakneck pace because the more and more determined victims dance to the hacker’s tune, culminating in an ending so brutal you’ll have nightmares in regards to the belongings you don’t need your family and friends to know.

7. “Black Museum” (Season 4, Episode 6)

This stays probably the most divisive episode within the historical past of Black Mirror. Directed by Colm McCarthy of Peaky Blinders and Sherlock fame, “Black Museum” is a visceral distillation of Brooker’s obsession with the macabre. It’s additionally the closest Brooker has gotten to The Twilight Zone and Hammer House of Horror, each of which have been inspirations for its anthology model. And whereas it’s entertaining to look at a person ruined by know-how compelled to plunge a drill right into a homeless individual’s cranium with a view to orgasm, you’ll be able to’t assist however really feel that is counting on shock for the sake of shock.

6. “Be Right Back” (Season 2, Episode 1)

The second when Martha (Hayley Atwell) meets the android model of Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) stays some of the profoundly unhappy and brilliantly acted within the historical past of Black Mirror. This story about grief and love makes use of a sci-fi leap of religion to grapple with a really modern drawback: what to do with somebody’s on-line id after they die. What begins off as a touching strategy of extended grieving quickly turns ghoulish. The solely factor that lets the episode down is an ending that tries to be one twist too intelligent. Ash, after all, ought to one hundred pc leap off the cliff.

5. “Hated in the Nation” (Season 3, Episode 6)

Although the plot of “Hated in the Nation” is straight out of sci-fi—involving rogue robotic bees that change into embroiled in a sadistic homicide plot—the episode performs issues straight with a gripping take in your typical British crime drama. At 89 minutes, it’s the longest Black Mirror episode, however it doesn’t really feel prefer it, with the plot unfolding neatly and culminating in a scrumptious twist that provides a depth some episodes lack. The unbelievable plot works within the episode’s favor, conserving it from feeling too preachy and turning it into one thing which may make folks suppose twice earlier than piling on the hate the following time social media selects its enemy for the day.

4. “Nosedive” (Season 3, Episode 1)

In one of many standout Black Mirror performances, Bryce Dallas Howard performs Lacie, a younger girl obsessed together with her ranking in a world the place individuals are scored on a scale of 1 to five for each interplay they’ve. Set in a superficial American suburbia stuffed with insipid pastel shades, “Nosedive” is a good rebuttal to naysayers who deride the present as too bleak or miserable. Black Mirror episodes are sometimes riffs on a selected style, and that is Brooker’s spin on a highway journey film, as Lacie’s spiraling ranking sends her on a mishap-laden journey throughout America and into the trail of the wonderful Cherry Jones. The penultimate scene—whereas a bit predictable—is likely one of the most fulfilling closers in all the sequence.

3. “The National Anthem” (Season 1, Episode 1)

The episode that began all of it, “The National Anthem” set the tone of the Black Mirror universe in its first 5 minutes, when the British prime minister is informed he should have intercourse with a pig on reside TV or face the execution of a beloved kidnapped princess. At the time, the plot felt so farcical that it was exhausting to see how Black Mirror would purchase its later status for predicting the long run. Four years later, when a memoir by former Tory donor Lord Ashcroft alleged that David Cameron put his penis in a useless pig’s mouth throughout a weird college ritual—one thing Brooker insists he had no data of—the present’s future-predicting credentials have been sealed for good.

2. “USS Callister” (Season 4, Episode 1)

Black Mirror is usually at its greatest when it’s scaring you with thought-provoking demonstrations of know-how run amok, however “USS Callister” is extra grounded in the actual world than its sci-fi setting suggests. Yes, antagonist Robert Daly creates a digital world through which he imprisons and abuses avatars of colleagues who’ve slighted him, however largely he’s simply one other offended younger man who takes his grievances to a digital house as a result of he’s incapable of addressing them in the actual world. The sensible Star Trek-inspired backdrop lends the story a grand scale as Daly and his enterprise companion James Walton painting two sides of poisonous masculinity and its degrading outcomes. The undeniable fact that “USS Callister” tells this story in a morbidly humorous, typically terrifying method seals its standing as certainly one of Black Mirror’s most interesting.

1. “San Junipero” (Season 3, Episode 4)

Quite a couple of issues modified when Black Mirror moved to Netflix. “San Junipero” in all probability greatest captured a subtly completely different method from the present’s creators. Here, the grit and (comparatively) low-budget grime of the Channel 4 days is changed by an American dream sheen. The additional price range means extra elaborate and detailed units, however it additionally brings the motion nearer to Silicon Valley, the supply of so many Black Mirror plots. But what actually makes this episode stand out is that the present abandons ghoulish farce to discover one thing extra human. In quick, it can make you cry in unhappiness quite than recoil in disgust.