Although I liked two of the US episodes, overall, the third/Netflix season feels inferior to what precedes it. Predictably, the Americans took away much of its bite.

i am on the 3rd episode of the us version so far, and i would say the british version was better. this seems to have lost some edge and so far, none of the episodes have disturbed me.

I think it's just harder to think up more scenarios, Brooker was writing three hour long episodes every two years but now has to churn out 6 every single year. Naturally quality suffers because you need more writers, if the show had been bought by the likes of Sy-fy or another cable channel he would be asked to write 22 episodes per year which would require a large writing team that would completely dilute what Charlie created in the first place and we'd end up with Generic American TV Show #137

I think 6 episodes is a great compromise that allows the show to remain Brooker-esque, the other technological anthology series Electric Dreams opted for 12 episodes and although great that show is no Black Mirror because it requires a lot more people to create it.

I'd say the american version improved on it vastly. I thought the British episodes were ok but a lot of them were either predictable or too unbelievable. The US ones were a lot better constructed. The San Junipero episode was fantastic. It gave a variety and proved that you don't have to be dark to be interesting.

I don't think very highly of British TV. And I am British, so I'm subjected to a lot of it. It has improved recently with things like Utopia, Peaky Blinders and Taboo. But I believe that the reason the British Black Mirror episodes are so highly regarded is because, in comparison to other British Telly, they look exceptional. And they were highly influential for us. But I do think America is very good at television. You guys know how to do it. You gave us The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. And I do prefer the US Black Mirror.

We are better at comedy though :P

Black Mirror was and still is created, written and produced by a British company called House of Tomorrow. Netflix have just bought the rights to it and given it a bigger budget, they haven't created a different "version".

@SpaceBound said:

Black Mirror was and still is created, written and produced by a British company called House of Tomorrow. Netflix have just bought the rights to it and given it a bigger budget, they haven't created a different "version".

I'm guessing they mean it's American funded as Netflix is American.

Well, British or American, it definitely seems to me that the seasons are suffering as they wear on. In the early episodes of this series they were deeply intellectual and disturbing (if, yes, some unbelievable). They were much more of a dystopian future flavor, unpacking the connections and implications of our technology addiction. The newer episodes just seem much more like a single-note tune, rather than a deep (and chilling) exploration. Also--oddly--the early episodes seemed less judgmental or heavy-handed about condemning the technology, allowing the viewer to be at once amazed and horrified.

@SpaceBound said:

Black Mirror was and still is created, written and produced by a British company called House of Tomorrow. Netflix have just bought the rights to it and given it a bigger budget, they haven't created a different "version".

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. Only had time to see up to "San Junipero" so far (no-one else in the family likes it) but, with the exception of "Shut Up and Dance", the "Netflix" eps have definitely felt more "American" and "glossy". Plus nothing so far has affected me as much as "The National Anthem", "Fifteen Million Merits" or "White Bear". That said, I know people who hate the eps I loved and vice versa.

@M. LeMarchand said:

@SpaceBound said:

Black Mirror was and still is created, written and produced by a British company called House of Tomorrow. Netflix have just bought the rights to it and given it a bigger budget, they haven't created a different "version".

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. Only had time to see up to "San Junipero" so far (no-one else in the family likes it) but, with the exception of "Shut Up and Dance", the "Netflix" eps have definitely felt more "American" and "glossy". Plus nothing so far has affected me as much as "The National Anthem", "Fifteen Million Merits" or "White Bear". That said, I know people who hate the eps I loved and vice versa.

Yeah, cause some of them were set in the US for the first time and they had the money this time to make it glossy.

Charlie Brooker is still the showrunner/writer. It isn't a different "version" still

@SpaceBound said:

Black Mirror was and still is created, written and produced by a British company called House of Tomorrow. Netflix have just bought the rights to it and given it a bigger budget, they haven't created a different "version".

They were funded by Netflix, therefore Netflix would get a say in the show. The Netflix influence is patently obvious. Your protestation is silly.