Netflix will release new Black Mirror just in time to unnerve you before Halloween, announcing today at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that the third season of Charlie Brooker’s anthology will arrive on October 21 at 12:01 a.m. PT. That date also anticipates the presidential election, which is shaping up to have some very Black Mirror-y elements.
The streaming service also unveiled the titles, stars, and directors of the six episodes. The lineup includes some heavy-hitters—most notably Atonement’s Joe Wright and 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg, whose feature implies he’s as well-suited to direct a Black Mirror installment as anyone out there. We knew both of those directors were on board already, but the full list is as follows: “San Junipero” with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis directed by Owen Harris, “Shut Up And Dance” with Jerome Flynn and Alex Lawther directed by James Watkins, “Nosedive” with Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, and James Norton directed by Joe Wright, “Men Against Fire” with Michael Kelly, Malachi Kirby and Madeline Brewer directed by Jakob Verbruggen, “Hated In The Nation” with Kelly MacDonald directed by James Hawes, and, finally, “Playtest” with Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen directed by Dan Trachtenberg. (It’s worth noting, in part because it’s both unsurprising and depressing, that not one episode is being directed by a woman.)
It’s hard to discern much plot from this information, but go forth and speculate. We’ll assume “Shut Up And Dance” is about a nefarious band called Walk The Moon who uses nostalgic music to manipulate listeners.