Back in 2020, production company Broke & Bones signed a $100m agreement with Netflix, allowing the streaming platform to own the company’s works, including Black Mirror. The deal was structured over five years and now that the term has come to an end, company directors Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones have stepped down from their positions at Broke & Bones.
On one hand, this is exciting news. Brooker and Jones have been tied to Netflix for five years, which is why the last few seasons of Black Mirror have been Netflix-exclusives. By stepping away from the company, Brooker and Jones are now free to work with any streaming platform or network of their choosing. The caveat is, of course, that Netflix still owns Black Mirror and can (and likely will) continue to put out new seasons of the show without Brooker’s input. Also worth pointing out that Black Mirror was originally created by Charlie Brooker himself.
Brooker has previously expressed enthusiasm for continuing to work on the series, stating that the evolution of technology means there are always fresh ideas and themes to explore. With him now stepping away from Broke & Bones (which Netflix still owns), however, this could mean that his involvement in the series is diminished. Aside from Black Mirror, Broke & Bones has also produced other critically acclaimed series including Toxic Town and Cunk On.
This definitely feels like a loss for Netflix, but are we really surprised by this turn of events? Especially considering that Black Mirror has straight up dunked on their own streaming platform for two seasons straight (see: Joan Is Awful and Common People)? Regardless of what happens with the series going forward, it’ll certainly be exciting to see what Brooker and Jones work on next. Meanwhile, considering the overwhelming popularity of the series and its stellar Season 7, I’d expect Netflix to order up more seasons sooner rather than later.
Black Mirror is now available for streaming on Netflix.
