No one wants 2020 to end more than Charlie Brooker, and his latest Netflix special is proof. Death to 2020 is a new mockumentary inspired, of course, by the most unpredictable of years. Developed by the creators of Black Mirror, the show takes a comedic look at the dreary events that made up this year and seeks to tell 2020’s story through the voices of the people who can actually make us laugh in the process.
A star-studded lineup sees appearances from Lisa Kudrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Kumail Nanjiani, Motherland‘s Diane Morgan, and The Undoing‘s Hugh Grant. Brooker also worked with a number of writers on the special, including British-Zimbabwean comedian Munya Chawawa, who was nominated for best media personality at the MOBO Awards this year.
“Those who only know me through Black Mirror may not realize that when not writing speculative sci-fi about people frowning at smartphones, I’ve spent years making comedy shows in the UK — including many topical comedy specials,” Brooker said of the series, according to Metro. “So to me, Death to 2020 feels like the collision of several different strands. (Do strands ‘collide’? No. Apologies). But the approach for this is quite different to most of the topical comedy I’ve done in the past.”
He added: “For one thing I’m not on screen presenting it — a relief for anyone watching in 4K — and it’s more character-based. In the loneliest year on record, I got to work (remotely) with writers and team members from my previous comedies, as well as many sickeningly talented people who were new to me.”
Fans of Brooker’s work certainly should not expect the darkness synonymous with Black Mirror. “If I had been writing the Black Mirror version of the pandemic unfolding across the planet, it would have been incredibly violent and society would have collapsed in on itself in the thrilling opening credit sequence,” he told Esquire. “Generally speaking, thus far, your neighbor is more likely to help you with something than they are to fight you for a bottle of water, so my more cynical and pessimistic thoughts have changed.”
Death to 2020 will be available to watch on Netflix on Dec. 27.