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Black Mirror – Season 1, Episode 1 The National Anthem

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Black Mirror – Season 1, Episode 1

The National Anthem

Aired Dec 4, 2011

Sci-Fi

Drama

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19 Reviews

Charlie Brooker's twisted parable for the Twitter age; a political thriller involving the kidnapping of fictional Princess Susannah, a much-loved member of the British Royal Family; Prime Minister Michael Callow deals with the crisis.

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Critics Consensus

This inaugural tale of political machinations and elite perversions works as a scalding satire and a nightmare of burgeoning technology gone awry, making it a perfect sampler for viewers seeking to step through the looking glass.

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Charles Bramesco

New York Magazine/Vulture

10/02/2018

Brooker turns what would otherwise be a dark comedy sketch into an astute depiction of public opinion's changing tides, and the uncanny speed with which the unthinkable enters the realm of the acceptable.

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Tim Molloy

TheWrap

10/02/2018

There is no better introduction to the show's cold-realist aesthetic.

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Jackie Strause

The Hollywood Reporter

10/02/2018

"The National Anthem" remains the story that should be used to indoctrinate viewers into Brooker's universe. The political satire is polarizing, and if it's viewed as a turnoff? A reminder that this series isn't for the faint-hearted.

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Victor Luckerson

The Ringer

07/18/2023

As the very first Black Mirror episode, “The National Anthem” stands out as feeling simultaneously the most absurd and the most grounded.

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Jacob Hall

Slashfilm

12/04/2018

If you believe Black Mirror takes place in a shared world and that each episode occurs at a different point on the same timeline, "The National Anthem" is the insane event that made everything else possible. It's a warning.

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Corey Atad

Esquire Magazine

10/08/2018

What follows is a wild, tense ride through media storm, shifting public sentiment, and political calculation. It's a hard-hitting look at the way TV news and online media can bring out some of the very worst in collective human instincts.

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Synopsis

Charlie Brooker's twisted parable for the Twitter age; a political thriller involving the kidnapping of fictional Princess Susannah, a much-loved member of the British Royal Family; Prime Minister Michael Callow deals with the crisis.

Director: Otto Bathurst
Executive Producer: Annabel Jones, Charlie Brooker
Screenwriter: Charlie Brooker
Network: Netflix
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date: Dec 4, 2011

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