With Black Mirror and The Handmaids Tale returning with new material this week, fans just simply do not know what to do with themselves. And Big Little Lies is back this Sunday, it’s truly too good to be true. But fans have been wondering why Black Mirror season 5 is so short—there are fewer episodes this season than ever before. So, what’s up with that? The last two seasons of Netflix’s hit show were both six episodes. Now, Season 5 is just three, exactly half of what we were hoping for. There’s a good reason, though. And it does make sense.
Although it’s been a full year since the release of Season 4, Black Mirror fans were treated to new content at the end of 2018. Back in December, the interactive film Bandersnatch came out. According to the streaming platform, there are 5 main endings to the film, but over a trillion variations within the movie, based on the user. It gets complicated, but basically, the point is, it was a lot of work. The project was a huge undertaking and pulled a lot of resources from the series. Black Mirror showrunner and creator, Charlie Booker, told The Hollywood Reporter that making the film was like making four episodes all at once. Because of this fun fact, Season 5 was delayed and also cut the episode count down from six to three.
To be fair—Black Mirror started out with only three episodes in its initial seasons, back when it was a Channel 4 show in the UK. There were three episodes released weekly, and then, of course, the Christmas special starring Jon Hamm. So. Good. (Watch that one if you haven’t).
Another fun fact of this season is that the one-and-only Miley Cyrus is starring in an episode.The singer plays pop star Ashley (surprise, surprise) whose life isn’t quite as perfect as many would believe. Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen will also make an appearance in this season, playing former college roommates who are reunited.
Black Mirror/Netflix.