Best Easter eggs in Black Mirror Season 6

❘ Published: 2023-06-30T15:39:13

Still from Black Mirror Season 6 Joan Is Awful

Netflix

Black Mirror is always packed full of Easter eggs and references to earlier episodes of the show, and Season 6 is no different – so, how many did you find? You can find some of the best ones below.

It’s no secret that Brooker’s Black Mirror exists in the same shared universe, making it the perfect breeding ground for countless Easter eggs and in-jokes.

With the arrival of each new season, not only are we treated to a variety of standalone stories with unique twists and satirical commentary, but every episode of the anthology show is packed with references – some of them obvious, some of them hidden.

And the sixth chapter is no different. So, now that Black Mirror Season 6 has arrived, here are the best Easter eggs we’ve found. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Black Mirror Season 6 Easter eggs

Before we get into it, it’s worth pointing out that we’ve only included Easter eggs from the Black Mirror shared universe. Also, this is your final spoiler warning for Season 6.

As per the official synopsis: “The long-awaited return of Charlie Brooker’s dark, satirical anthology series which reinvents itself with each new episode. The sixth season of Black Mirror is the most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected yet.”

Streamberry menu

We’re starting with Episode 1, ‘Joan is Awful’, which features Streamberry, a streaming platform that is nearly a carbon copy of Netflix. When Joan and her partner Krish (Avi Nash) start browsing for something to watch, the menu displays a whole range of Black Mirror Easter eggs masquerading as TV shows, including:

Sea of Tranquility – a fake TV show we’ve seen referenced in numerous Black Mirror episodes before, including the very first one, ‘The National Anthem’. Speaking of which…
The Callow Years – a fictional documentary series on Michael Callow, aka the Prime Minister who f*cked a pig on live TV in Black Mirror’s ‘The National Anthem’
Rowdy and Peanut – a nod to the two main characters in Cat Burglar, Brooker’s 2022 animated interactive film
Loch Henry – the fictional documentary series at the center of Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2
HotShot – a reference to the demoralizing reality competition show seen in the Season 1 episode ‘Fifteen Million Merits’, which itself is a rip of shows such as American Idol
Botherguts – another fictional show in ‘Fifteen Million Merits’, in which overweight people are degraded for entertainment
Finding Ritman – a fake series based on Colin Ritman, the character at the center of Brooker’s interactive Black Mirror episode, ‘Bandersnatch’
Untitled ‘White Bear’ documentary – a nod to the Season 2 episode
Untitled Ashley O series – a nod to the Season 5 episode ‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too’
Junipero Dreaming – a TV show with a title that references Season 3 episode ‘San Junipero’

Anyone who knows what love is…

Yes, ‘Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)’ by Irma Thomas makes a brief appearance in ‘Joan is Awful’, when the eponymous character enters the bar where she meets her ex-boyfriend for a quick drink.

The song has become the unofficial Black Mirror anthem, having first been performed by Abi Khan (Jessica Brown Findlay) in ‘Fifteen Million Merits’. Since then, it’s appeared in countless episodes.

Brooker previously told The Wrap: “It was originally selected for [‘Fifteen Million Merits’] because it has the sound of a timeless haunting classic, yet wouldn’t be familiar to most viewers. Idea was to have the character of Abi sing a song of earnest beauty.”

Producer Annabel Jones added that Brooker “loved the song” and “liked the idea of nesting all the episodes together in an artistic universe of sorts.”

The terrifying takeover of the UK Prime Minister

In ‘Joan is Awful’, as Joan’s ex Mac (Rob Delaney) is scrolling through the news, a headline pops up stating: “Protests continue as UK PM Michael Smart touches down at JFK for official visit.”

If you’ve watched to the end of the series, you’ll know that Michael Smart is the Tory candidate in Episode 5, ‘Demon 79’. In the episode, protagonist Nida (Anjana Vasan) is given an insight into the future, one in which the far right MP becomes Prime Minister and takes the UK down a terrifying route.

In short, he makes Michael Callow look like Barney the Dinosaur.

Lacie P is back for more social media madness

Just below the article is a post from none other than Lacie Pound (Bryce Dallas Howard), the lead character in Season 3’s ‘Nosedive’. Remember how she was obsessed with getting her social media score up before the climatic final act?

Well, perhaps ‘Joan is Awful’ is set before those events, as she’s clearly still obsessing if her post is anything to go by.

Tusk refuses to be canceled

Below Lacey’s post is one from TuskTheKid, the rapper (Charles Babalola) who gets attacked on social media after insulting a child fan in Season 3’s ‘Hated in the Nation’. In his post, he writes: “You #CantCancelMe,” before saying that he’s “dropping” a full music video.

Once again, this indicates ‘Joan is Awful’ happens before the events of many of Season 3’s episodes, as Tusk died in brutal fashion in ‘Hated in the Nation’.

Grains going out

As Joan’s TV double Salma Hayek shows her a newspaper report on the Streamberry CEO, next to it there’s a smaller article about Grains, aka the memory recording neural implant devices that first appear in Season 1 episode ‘The Entire History of You’.

Waldo and robots and news, oh my!

In ‘Loch Henry’, which sees a young filmmaking couple embark on a true crime documentary that uncovers dark secrets about the past, there are plenty of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references to the wider Black Mirror world. Many of these arrive in the fictional documentary’s trailer, which shows a number of Easter-egg-filled tickers in a news report on the case, including:

“Michael Smart unveils Met Police robot dog” – a headline referring to the aforementioned far right politician in ‘Demon 79’ and the robotic dog from Season 4’s ‘Metalhead’
“US tourist found dead at SaitoGemu HQ” – a nod to Season 3’s ‘Playtest’
“‘Toon Politician’ Waldo romps to victory in Italy” – referring to Season 2’s ‘Waldo’
“Hot Shot auditions open in Sydney” – another mention of the faux reality TV series first seen in ‘Fifteen Million Merits’

The Callow Years

Once again, The Callow Years gets a mention, as it turns out Loch Henry is hailed from the “award-winning producers” of the same documentary series.

Callow is also referenced in a series of front page shots from the Loch Henry trailer, with a headline that reads: “Whatever happened to Michael Callow? Now he runs a ZOO!” If you cast your mind back to ‘Nosedive’, you might remember that the former UK PM posted: “Just got thrown out of the zoo again.”

You can’t get more meta than that.

Black Mirror takes over the BAFTAs

As Davis (Samuel Blenkin) awaits his award for Loch Henry, a number of nominees for Best Factual Series at the BAFTAs are read out, one of which is titled Euthanasia: Inside Project Junipero, a nod to the aforementioned ‘San Junipero’.

Another is Suffer the Children: The Tipley Pedophile Ring, referring to the fictional Northern English town in ‘Demon 79’.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Okay, this might be a bit of a reach, but the house in which Janet (Monica Dolan) prepares her shepherd’s pie looks eerily similar to the one seen in Season 2’s ‘White Christmas’ – sure, there are differences, but they certainly have the same claustrophobic feel to them.

Where no man has gone before

Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 3, ‘Beyond the Sea’, takes us back in time to a fictional 1969, with an early scene showing lead character David (Josh Hartnett) taking his family to the cinema. As he’s having a conversation with a couple, a “now showing” list in the background includes Space Fleet – the fictional show inspired by Star Trek in ‘USS Callister’.

A familiar symbol in The Boston Globe

Following a Charles Mansion-esque scene in ‘Beyond the Sea’, Cliff’s (Aaron Paul) wife Lana (Kate Mara) is seen reading an article in The Boston Globe about the incident – look a little to the left and you’ll see the infamous symbol first shown in Season 2’s ‘White Bear’.

The symbol, which kind of looks like a baby tuning fork, has appeared in numerous episodes since, and even makes an appearance in ‘Demon 79’ (more on this in a bit).

Sea of Tranquility, without the tranquility

The fake sci-fi show Sea of Tranquility gets another mention in Episode 4, ‘Mazey Day’. The Easter egg shows up early on in the episode, when a news report states that “former Sea of Tranquility star Justin Camley” was found dead in his home. The tragic event unfolds after paparazzo Bo (Zazie Beetz) leaks pictures of the fictional actor cheating on his wife with a man.

Who wants to end up at the Quagmire?

Shortly after the news of Camley’s death, Bo heads to a celebrity hotspot to try and get some shots and make some money. When a celebrity comes out, a group of paparazzis can be seen taking photos outside of the Quagmire. And if the name sounds familiar, it’s because it was the name of the fetish nightclub in ‘San Junipero’.

What’s more, when Bo tries to get out of the game, she’s seen working at a coffee shop called “Yorkie’s” – which may be a reference to ‘San Junipero’ character Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis).

The symbol, again

Yes, the symbol shows up again in ‘Demon 79’, playing a more important role in the episode as it’s marked on the talisman that Nida accidentally anoints with her blood, summoning the demon Gaap (Paapa Essiedu).

Metalhead mayhem

Season 6 features another reference to Black Mirror’s ‘Metalhead’, this time in ‘Demon 79’ as Gaap shows Nida what the future will look like if Michael Smart gets in power – in short, it’s a Nazi-esque nightmare.

Horrifying images of his rise to power are flashed across the screen, one of which shows the terrifying robotic “dogs” from the Season 4 episode.

Black Mirror Season 6 is streaming on Netflix now. Check out our other coverage below: