Black Mirror; Staged

“It is, overall, a fine collection of new episodes. Whether any will stick in the mind and become as revered as Hated in the Nation or Be Right Back, or as loved as San Junipero, I doubt. That is not to say the newcomers are anything less than fun or thought-provoking. But nothing quite stands out as the best Black Mirror has to.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The new series of Black Mirror has five episodes, each totally distinct, each at least an hour long, each easily original enough to have been stretched out into a feature film. For any normal film-maker that might be a life’s work. For Charlie Brooker it’s merely series six. And yet, naggingly, if they were stretched out into films, then I’m not sure those films would all be super.”
Hugo Rifkind, The Times

“Unfortunately the fun kicks off with easily the weakest offering. Joan Is Awful is Black Mirror Lite – a retreat from the pummelling cyber-angst of outstanding instalments such as the Emmy-winning San Junipero and The Entire History Of You and a lurch towards something sillier and more disposable. In place of the familiar tech gloom, Brooker settles upon a heightened zaniness that becomes an endurance test if you’re not in the mood.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“In classic Brooker style, Joan is Awful twists and turns over and over until you’re not really sure where or who you are. But it’s all conceived with knowing irony and never takes itself too seriously. It’s certainly one of Black Mirror’s most explicitly funny episodes to date.”
Emily Bootle, The i

“Tackling issues from artificial intelligence to automaton clones, via genres ranging from black comedy to supernatural horror, the new series is inflected with classic Black Mirror tropes but also brings something new. For the first time, Black Mirror is not merely holding the looking glass up to the damage wrought by technology, but to the self-inflicted wounds of society as well.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“The dynamic hasn’t changed much: Tennant is hyperactive and slightly annoying, Sheen is weary, and both have sizeable egos. As before, the fun is in watching them push each other’s buttons.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“This is a comedy about actors playing parodies of themselves, and it rapidly turns into an optical illusion, like infinite reflections in two opposing mirrors. The cleverness of it all becomes too knowing, too ironic. Staged is best enjoyed for its one-liners.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail