At first glance from the teaser trailer, U.S.S.
Like Metalhead [photo above] is very unlike any episode weve done before.
Its a deliberately paired down and brutal tale.
Credit: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix
If you imagine every season like an album, this is like a 2-minute punk single.
Whats a literally black-and-white story we can tell?
How did you land Jodie Foster to direct?
Thats a huge score.Netflix had worked with her before and they suggested Jodie.
We were like, Really?
You think she would?
We had a Skype conversation during which I managed to keep my cool and not freak out.
And she brought a lot of that.
Callister is the WTF of the clips…It certainly sticks out.
Theres certainly more to it than meets the eye.
I kept saying, Well it isnt, really.
We tried not to think about that.
But if you look at Callister there are some stuff that leaked in from the outside world.
The vibe I got from Crocodile is isolation and paranoia.
How far off am I?Not entirely off!
That title tells you nothing, in the way thatReservoir Dogsdoesnt tell you anything aboutReservoir Dogs.
So Im happy to keep it that way.
Theres a hint of that.
Its probably more societal.
Weve gone for lots of different tones this season.
Theres a couple more comedic.
Theres some that are not nihilistically horrible from beginning to end and there are others that are.
This is one thats more enjoyable [yet once again laughs].
Um, something to do with race relations?No, a black museum in the U.K. is acrimemuseum.
Its a phrase I didnt realize wasnt a universal phrase.
Thats a Treehouse of Horror.
We did White Christmas before.
The show itself is an anthology and that was an anthology within an anthology.
I always wanted to do another one of those and thats what this is.
Youre getting several stories.
Tales from the Black Museum we could have called it.
Theres quite a lot going on there.
We do little nods and winks to previous stories weve done.
Which is not something you normally ever do, right?Right.
My position on this has changed.
I used to say theyre all individual stories.
Emotionally, they are.
Sometimes Id make suggestions for something in a news ticker or a Facebook feed that eludes to other stories.
With Black Museum I realized we can build upon previous episodes.
Its interesting that Ive now become convinced this is a shared universe and was once convinced it wasnt.
Have you started anguishing over the order of the episodes yet?Yes.
Weve got a real variety of tone again this season.
In that respect, were gonna piss off everyone.
I always wrestle over which episode to tell people who have never seenBlack Mirrorto watch first.
Which do you tell people to watch?I used to say, Just start at the beginning.
But I recognize that The National Anthem is very divisive.
Going into it cold its quite a spoonful.
There is no right episode.
Or pick whichever episode your friends recommended.
Its like a little movie festival, you dont have to watch all of them.
Thats a long way of saying that I dont know.
Nosedive is a good place to start for a lot of people.
Obviously, its pretty good to get an Emmy.
There will be an update on that soon…
But for the writing category I genuinely never entertained the prospect.
But it was a very pleasant surprise.
To win both was flabbergasting.
So how does that sit with you given the shows usual darker tendencies?
I was lucky that the scenario one I thought up was an evocative one.
Certainly, I was more acutely aware of not wanting to f it up.
For more onBlack Mirrorseason 4, check outour recap of the shows recent PaleyFest panelthat screened U.S.S.
Black Mirrorseason 4 will premiere later this year.
