5 Things We Know About 'Black Mirror' Season 5

Black Mirror, Netflix’s critically-acclaimed, frequently terrifying, and strangely addictive anthology series about the ways that technology can improve (and sometimes ruin) our lives is officially coming back for a fifth season. The streaming giant surprised fans by dropping a trailer for the new season on Wednesday, May 15—and its premiere date it much sooner than you'd probably imagine. Here's everything we know about the upcoming season.

1. It Premieres This June

The most recent Black Mirror project, Bandersnatch, was a choose-your-own-adventure experiment that premiered in Dec. 2018. Fans have been itching for more episodes ever since, but didn’t expect the new season to premiere so soon, especially since the gaps in previous seasons have ranged from one to three years. The fifth season will debut on Netflix on June 5.

2. There Are Only Three Episodes

Although every season of Black Mirror has been on the shorter side (Seasons 4 and 5 were the longest, with six episodes each), Season 5 will feature a total of three episodes, similar to the first season. While fans no doubt have high hopes that the new episodes will be on the longer side, runtimes have not been confirmed

3. We'll Be Seeing a Handful of Familiar Faces

Black Mirror has cast a lot of famous faces over the years, including Jon Hamm, Daniel Kaluuya, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Season 5 will be no different: Miley Cyrus, Anthony Mackie, Topher Grace, and Andrew Scott are just a few of the actors who will make appearances.

4. Minor Details From Each Episode Have Been Revealed

According to IMDb, the first two episode titles have been revealed, as have photos for all three episodes. The first episode, titled “Striking Vipers,” will include a storyline featuring Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Episode 2, “Smithereens,” stars Andrew Scott. The third episode will feature Miley Cyrus and Frances Sholto-Douglas.

5. Technology Will, of Course, Play a Major Role

Black Mirror is famous for tackling the dangers technology can pose to society, often in an exaggerated way. So it's no surprise that Season 5 will continue the "tech is scary" theme. Based on the trailer alone, it looks like cell phones, VR, and robots will all play a pivotal role.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.