What once felt like Black Mirror’s exclusive domain – holding up a dark reflection of our near future – has become an entire genre. Where Brooker once led the charge, others have followed, refining and expanding on his themes. Does Black Mirror still have space in a world where dystopian fiction is mainstream? In this crowded space, does it still feel like appointment TV or is it just another voice in the chorus of dystopian despair?

Personally, I think Brooker’s razor-sharp perspective of the world still has a place, but it has to move beyond its eponymous title. It can’t just reflect reality anymore; it needs to evolve. If the show can innovate – whether through storytelling, structure, or shifting perspectives – it has the potential to remain groundbreaking. How? Perhaps season seven should shift from bleak inevitability to resistance. Maybe Brooker should double down on what he does best, blending satire and absurdity with dystopian horror (hey, it worked for Don’t Look Up and The Boys). Or maybe it’s time for Black Mirror to stop being a cautionary tale and embrace speculative hopepunk.

Then again, maybe it doesn’t need to compete with reality at all – just show us how we’re reacting to it. Or, god help us, perhaps Brooker has dreamed up new horrors for us to sink our teeth into (and for real-world scientists to take inspiration from, apparently).

But if Brooker wants to keep shocking us in 2025, he can’t just hold up a mirror to the darkness we know; he needs to show us what happens when we fight back.

Still, with six unnerving new episodes, an impossibly starry cast (Rashida Jones! Tracee Ellis Ross! Peter Capaldi! Emma Corrin! Issa Rae! Awkwafina!), and the much anticipated sequel to USS Callister, aka the best Black Mirror episode of all time, in the mix, I suspect we’re in for a genuinely exceptional time regardless. Roll on season seven.

Black Mirror: Season 7 drops Thursday 10 April on Netflix.

How can Black Mirror ever hope to compete with the relentless horrors of the real world?