Netflix's Black Mirror seeks to unsettle audiences with profound life lessons, poignant character pieces, and flashes of dystopian drama -- and in so doing, has become an international institution. Showrunners Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones have expanded their budget -- and ambition -- since Netflix became involved in 2015. Season 6 is a far cry from where the show began on the UK's Channel 4, when Rory Kinnear got into a spot of bother with some livestock.

Only during the COVID-19 pandemic did a discreet line get drawn under Black Mirror, as life imitated art and society went into a perceived freefall. However, armageddon failed to happen and more top-tier talent joined Black Mirror Season 6, which premiered in June 2023. But does this season featuring Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Salma Hayek (House of Gucci), Annie Murphy (American Horror Story) and Zazie Beetz (Joker) installment measure up, or is it best forgotten?

Black Mirror Season 6 Premiere Pulls Its Punches

Streamberry Episode Lets Netflix Off the Hook

Satire in movies or TV works best when it skates too close to the edge. In the Black Mirror Season 6 premiere, Brooker takes a swing at streaming culture with limited success. The underlying theme of identity theft and a reliance on technology to tailor entertainment also comes under fire, but there is also a sense that the writer is holding back. Despite incorporating elements of The Truman Show and throwing in a few clever twists, there is an unavoidable predictability that unfolds. Black Mirror Season 2, Episode 4, "White Christmas," skillfully explored similar territory by delving into the possibilities of memory manipulation through a collective consciousness. In contrast, the Streamberry story never feels like it goes for the throat.

Stars Annie Murphy and Salma Hayek buy into the episode's central conceit, but aside from a few moments designed to remind audiences of their current cultural obsessions, there is far too much reverence for Netflix. The premiere also feels like it's covering old territory. Aside from "White Christmas," Season 3's "Shut Up and Dance" addressed similar issues but did so without restraint. To a certain extent, Black Mirror, Season 4, Episode 1, "U.S.S. Callister," achieved the same end as well -- but it never tackled Netflix head on, preferring instead to avoid biting the hand that feeds. Strange as it may sound, the Netflix-supported Season 6 premiere feels too mainstream and lacks the rough edges that make Black Mirror so subversive.

Black Mirror Season 6, Episode 2 Is a Horrific Story

'Loch Henry' Explores the Price of Ambition

Thankfully, Black Mirror Season 6, Episode 2, "Loch Henry" gets the season back on track. The technology on display in this found footage family melodrama is much more Bandersnatch. Everything is VHS videotapes, handheld cameras, and campfire horror stories. Isolated locations, close-knit communities and boyhood reunions are the order of the day as Davis McCardle (played by Samuel Blenkin) arrives home. Unfortunately, what he comes back to find is a ghost town filled with childhood memories and its own share of secrets. Tourists have long abandoned this idyllic highland retreat in favor of somewhere that has fewer dead bodies buried in the back garden. However, what really makes this episode shine is the subtle character work and on-screen chemistry between Blenkin and Myha’la Herrold from HBO's even-better-than-Succession British import Industry, who plays Davis' girlfriend Pia.

At its core, Black Mirror's low-key murder mystery dissects the price of ambition. In an understated and eloquent way, it also explores issues of sacrifice and the secrets people keep. Fame and notoriety -- whether earned or offered -- always come at a cost, and that is where this episode lives and breathes. Brooker slowly reveals his hand with all the skill of a seasoned card shark, letting puzzle pieces slot into place. "Loch Henry" draws audiences in before an out of left field plot twist, mixing and matching moments of disconnection with universal truths -- before something horrific bursts the bubble.

Black Mirror Takes Exploring Humanity to a New Level

Season 6 Tells Both Human and Horrifying Stories

As it becomes easier to work from anywhere in the world, why would anyone limit themselves to Earth? If space travel were an option and family time was still possible, why wait? These are the questions that Brooker asks in Black Mirror Season 6, Episode 3, "Beyond the Sea," as he takes remote working to another level. Breaking Bad alum Aaron Paul and Josh Harnett play astronauts Cliff Stanfield and David Ross, and with the added drama of loss on top of isolation, they're soon required to up the ante. The episode may start out as an ethical exploration of the ideas around remote working, but jealousy and grief upset this delicate balance.

"Beyond the Sea" represents another high water mark for Black Mirror Season 6. It addresses the challenges of remote working by going to extremes, questions the idea of identity and by extension, asks what it is to be human. This installment and Season 6, Episode 5, "Demon 79" -- which takes a hard look at race relations in the 1980s -- are strong episodes. However, should their ideas be a bit much, Black Mirror Season 6, Episode 4, "Mazey Day" offers up something more conventional and allows Brooker to give his audience some Hollywood horror.

In a culture obsessed by celebrity, this moral fable turned B-movie horror flick leaves a mark... eventually.

The episode doesn't possess the political and racial edge of "Demon 79," but it still has something incisive to say. Zazie Beetz is given little to do as part-time paparazzi Bo. Things only get moving when Brooker reveals his trump card and embraces 1980s horror with both hands. Up until then it's just a mass of movie star clichés with few surprises. Yet the flesh does start flying and that's when the episode takes off.

Is Black Mirror Season 6 Worth Watching Again?

The Season Isn't Perfect, But It Still Has Plenty to Offer

Black Mirror might not be the satire or social commentary series it once was, but neither can it be dismissed as something that is now dated, given current world events. Season 6 offers poignancy and pathos from a great writer with plenty to say, even if some episodes are stronger than others. "Beyond the Sea" and "Demon 79" are the high points of the season, while "Loch Henry" also leaves a considerable impact on the viewing audience. The other two episodes are less successful, though "Mazey Day" does pick up toward its ending.

With Black Mirror Season 7 coming to Netflix in 2025, looking back at the sixth season proves that Brooker hasn't run out of ideas yet -- and will likely get more with everything happening in society. The recognizable actors all turn in solid performances, though some are given more room to shine than others. And there are plenty of scares and thought-provoking moments to be had, which is what people expect from the show that remains TV's best anthology.