GRcade

Charlie Brooker, the author of E4's BAFTA-nominated Dead Set, returns with a new three-part 60 minute mini-series. Charlie authors two of the three films while the third is written by Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, The Thick of It, Fresh Meat).

Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone - a black mirror of our 21st Century existence.

Our grip on reality is shifting. We worship at the altars of Google and Apple. Facebook algorithms know us more intimately than our own parents. We have access to all the information in the world, but no brain space left to absorb anything longer than a 140-character tweet.

Black Mirror taps into the collective unease about our modern world. The three stand-alone dramas are sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales with a techno-paranoia bent.

The National Anthem, is a blackly comic drama written by Charlie Brooker

A twisted parable for the Twitter age, 'The National Anthem' looks at how information is now disseminated so quickly and public opinion now so loud, powerful and quick to change, that life is very much harder for the rich and supposedly powerful. It's a political thriller in which the fictional Prime Minister Michael Callow (Rory Kinnear) faces a huge and shocking dilemma when Princess Susannah, a much-loved member of the Royal Family, is kidnapped.

Directed by Otto Bathurst (Criminal Justice, Five Days)

Cast includes Rory Kinnear, Lindsay Duncan, Tom Goodman-Hill, Donald Sumpter and Anna Wilson-Jones

By Charlie Brooker and Konnie Huq.

Set in a sarcastic version of a future reality, '15 Million Merits' is a satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction. In this world, everyone is confined to a life of strange physical drudgery. The only way to escape this life is to enter the ‘Hot Shot' talent show and just pray you can impress the judges.

Directed by Euros Lyn (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Torchwood)

Cast includes Daniel Kayluuya, Jessica Brown Findlay, Rupert Everett, Julia Davis and Ashley

Written by Jesse Armstrong.

We find ourselves in an alternate reality where everyone has access to a memory chip style implant which records everything they do, see or hear - a sort of Sky Plus for the brain. You need never forget a face, a holiday, a meeting or a night out again ... but is that always such a good thing?

Directed by Brian Welsh (In Our Name)

Cast includes Toby Kebbell, Jodie Whittaker and Tom Cullen.

Santa Spurs wrote:I'm sure they'll all find a way to disappoint.

Memento Mori wrote:You don't negotiate with terrorists. What a noob.