'Black Mirror' creator Charlie Brooker takes a stand on the criticism that the series has lost its characteristic edge since moving to Netflix

Recently at the SXSW event in Sydney, Charlie Brooker took on the defence of the new seasons of cult dystopian series Black Mirror.

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Many believe that the series' move from Channel 4 to Netflix ruined everything. Brooker faced criticism that the show's dystopian themes were "watered down" in an attempt to please a more American or commercial audience after working with Netflix.

The director himself has drawn attention to the hubbub, saying: "One of the criticisms we sometimes get is, ‘I prefer the show when it was British and everyone in it was miserable and everything smelled a little bit of shit and all the stories were horrible. And then it’s gone to Netflix and suddenly everything’s sunny and happy and everyone has wonderful teeth, and it’s full of Hollywood stars and it’s lost that edge.".

However, Brooker argues that the platform change did not significantly affect the essence of the show, and that Netflix played a limited role in its evolution. - The director "I was aware we’re going on a global platform now, so we’ve got to make these stories a bit more international, And I wanted to mix it up a bit, as in not just keep doing bleak-a-thons.".

Brooker also noted that despite the criticism, the new season includes the episode "Loch Henry," which he says is perhaps the darkest of all and, as he describes it, was "fucking nasty – nasty as anything we’ve ever done.".

"Black Mirror" first saw the light of day in 2011 and wowed audiences with terrible episodes like "Fifteen Million Merits" and "National Anthem." After moving to Netflix, Brooker went on to create four more seasons and an interactive film called "Bandersnatch."

There is no official word yet on a potential seventh season of "Black Mirror."

Source: Total Film