When Black Mirror returned at the very end of 2018, it wasn’t with a new series but labyrinthine choose-your-own-morbid-adventure interactive film Bandersnatch. And while that was a fascinating and inventive experiment, the prospect of a new regular series of Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones’ bleak technological satire is hugely enticing.
Well, it’s nearly here – we've now had confirmation that Season 5 is coming to Netflix on 5th June, with three brand new star-packed episodes. Watch the trailer here:
There’s plenty to unpack here – for one, those guest stars. It looks like Fleabag star Andrew Scott is leading one episode, with a fresh-from-Avengers: Endgame Anthony Mackie also starring this series, plus Miley Cyrus - who was rumoured to be taking part back in December 2018 - going full popstar, and That 80's Show's Topher Grace donning an unsettling wig.
All the usual tech paranoia is present and accounted for, with some visuals that look contemporary to the present day, and other instalments looking somewhat more futuristic. And then there’s that Street Fighter-styled fight scene – a new visual leap for the series.
Swipe through to see which shows on Netflix you NEED to watch in 2019...
Netflix 2019 shows - stacked
1 of 8Nightflyers
Based on a short book, set in the future, Nightflyers follows a crew of explorers on a journey on the most advanced ship in the galaxy, The Nightflyer. As they near their destination, they discover their ship might actually be taking them towards deadly and unspeakable horrors!
2 of 8Star Trek: Discovery Season 2
Star Trek: Discovery is back for another series! The first season of Star Trek: Discovery featured a new ship, new characters, and new missions, while staying true to the original franchise.
3 of 8The Umbrella Academy
Based on a popular, award-winning comics and graphic novels, The Umbrella Academy follows forty-three babies who are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women. Seven of the children are adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire industrialist, however as teenagers the family becomes fractured.
4 of 8The Rain Season 2
The first season of The Rain was released in 2018 and has been so successful it's back once again in 2019. The Rain is set six years after a brutal virus carried by the rain wipes out almost all humans in Scandinavia. However, two Danish siblings have survived and emerge from the safety of their bunker to find all remnants of civilisation gone.
5 of 8Our Planet
Our Planet was filmed over four years, and combines the spectacular photography of Planet Earth with an unprecedented look at the planet's remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants.
6 of 8ELITE Season 2
ELITE returns for another season in 2019. Following the children at Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain, in the first season viewers got to see what happened when three working class kids were admitted to the elite school after their academy was destroyed by an earthquake.
7 of 8Disenchantment Season 2
From the creator of The Simpsons, Disenchantment returns for a second season. This adult animated comedy fantasy series was super popular earlier this year and returns for Netflix in 2019.
8 of 8Stranger Things 3
Another popular Netflix series that we can watch is Stranger Things 3.
This marks the first time that the show has returned to a three-episode series since the show’s original Channel 4 runs – and all three instalments are said to be written by Brooker himself. Bring on the summertime sadness, arriving 5 June.
This article originally appeared on Empire Online__.
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