There’s really no beating Black Mirror but these streaming shows have the same aura

Black Mirror season seven launched to pretty solid reviews, but if you’ve blasted through the eight new episodes, you might be looking for other shows just like it.

It’s hard to capture Black Mirror in a single sentence or description. It covers a huge number of topics, each episode is wholly different from the last, and some of them simply defy explanation. That being said, there are a few shows out there that do just as well, if not better, jobs at some of Black Mirror’s ultra-specific themes. Take a look.

1. Love Death + Robots

Part of Black Mirror’s magic is the standalone episodes that don’t have intrinsic links besides a few carefully selected easter eggs. You can cherry-pick the episodes you want to watch, and Netflix’s Love Death + Robots is the exact same.

Created by Tim Miller and David Fincher, the animated anthology series covers absolutely bonkers plots such as a siren luring soldiers to their deaths, an eldritch god being unleashed, scientists being assimilated by a gross swarm, and a tiny civilisation inside a couple’s freezer. Each season is more batsh*t than the last, and because each episode varies in length, art style, plot, and characters, you can jump in with whatever tickles your fancy.

All the seasons of Love Death + Robots have 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and are streaming on Netflix right now. The next instalment in the series is set for release later this year.

2. Foundation

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If you loved the mind-bending plots of episodes such as Playtest, San Junipero, and Crocodile, then you will adore Apple TV’s Foundation. Based on the best-selling book series by Isaac Asimov, Foundation takes place in the far future where the universe is ruled by three clones of one man. When a young Gaal Dornick wins a maths contest spanning the galaxy, she is thrust into a bubbling conflict between the genetic dynasty and her mentor’s belief in psychohistory, the analysis of maths to predict the future.

Foundation takes place over literally hundreds of years, so it can be difficult to keep up with at times. But if you love Black Mirror, it’s undoubtedly the project for you.

3. Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities

I was going to include American Horror Stories on this list, but if we’re being honest, most of the standalone episodes are nowhere near as good as the typical series. Enter Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a horror anthology series from – you guessed it – Guillermo del Toro, the genius behind Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Pacific Rim, and many more.

Across eight episodes that are on Netflix, you will broach topics such as demon summoning, being eaten by mutant rats, aliens invading human bodies, and art that literally drives people crazy. It’s a wild ride.

4. The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone – a spin-off of the 1959 science fiction classic – is another anthology series, this time from Jordan Peele. It also addresses a separate topic in each episode, covering supernatural occurrences, racism, social issues, misinformation in the press, alien invasions, and immigration, to name but a few. It’s got a 67 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, but don’t let that put you off because it’s got stars such as Adam Scott, Taissa Farmiga, Damon Wayans Jr, and Kumail Nanjiani.

5. Dark

Dark is a German series on Netflix that ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2020. Set in the eerily creepy town of Winden, an ensemble cast expertly drags us viewers through a twisted tale of child disappearances, time travel, and murder.

Why do foreign projects always slap so hard?

6. Russian Doll

Netflix’s award-winning show, Russian Doll, sees a woman called Nadia trapped in a time loop on her 36th birthday that restarts every time she dies. In season two, things get even crazier when she is dropped into the body of her mother way back in 1982. Starring Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, and Chloë Sevigny, Russian Doll should already be on your watch list.

7. Alice in Borderland

If you’re looking for Netflix shows similar to Black Mirror, then look no further than Alice in Borderland, a twisted tale of technology, video games, and Squid Game-style games. It’s truly gripping TV, and following the overwhelming success of seasons one and two, a third season is set for release on Netflix in September.

8. Orphan Black

Back in 2013, Orphan Black was Black Mirror before Black Mirror was even a thing. Everyone was talking about it, everyone was confused by it, and even after a full decade, people have unanswered questions. The main character is Sarah Manning, played by Tatiana Maslany, who assumes the identity of a dead woman who is her doppelgänger. Soon enough, there are enough clones to fill a football team.

If you liked the jarring nature of Black Mirror episodes such as Bête Noire, Men Against Fire, and Joan is Awful, then Orphan Black is defo the show for you.

Black Mirror season seven is now streaming on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes – like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

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