The dystopia-exploring anthology series Black Mirror is returning for a sixth season at Netflix.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the critically-acclaimed series has been renewed for another season. The upcoming Season 6 is expected to be lengthier than 2019's Season Five, which was only three episodes long. Despite the increased episode count, it appears that Black Mirror will continue to produce longer, more cinematic episodes than earlier seasons. Prior plans for a sixth season of the series were put on pause due to the global health crisis.

RELATED: The Best Sci-Fi Series Streaming on Netflix

Created by Charlie Booker, Black Mirror premiered on the UK's Channel 4 back in 2011 before making the jump to Netflix in 2016. The series largely focuses on ways in which technology could go awry, often in fantastical and horrifying ways. Alongside the show's previous five seasons, Black Mirror has also seen spinoffs including the "White Christmas" special, as well as the 2018 interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The series has frequently been compared to past anthology shows such as The Twilight Zone, and sits alongside other breakout anthology hits such as Love, Death + Robots.

Apart from delays in production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Mirror has also been at the center of a particularly complicated situation regarding the rights to the series. Originally, the series was produced by Brooker and Annabel Jones' House of Tomorrow production company under the Endemol Shine Group. Shortly after the pair left Endemol Shine Group in 2020, they launched a new production company, Broke and Bones, though the rights to Black Mirror stayed behind, eventually being bought alongside the rest of Endemol Shine by Banijay Group. Since then, Netflix has licensed the rights to Black Mirror, allowing for Brooker and Jones to pick back up their work on the series.

RELATED: Black Crab’s Most Horrific Scene Mirrors a Heartbreaking Canadian Tragedy

While the delay between seasons of Black Mirror has been several years, Brooker has continued producing content for Netflix, including the mockumentary Death to 2020 and its follow-up, Death to 2021. These continued Brooker's trend of creating biting mockumentaries which scrutinize the pitfalls of media production, including Screenwipe which ran for six seasons through 2006, Newswipe which lasted two seasons from 2009 to 2010, and the 2009 special Gameswipe. Brooker also produced a single series of How TV Ruined Your Life in 2011, which has been noted as carrying much of the same DNA that would eventually make its way into Black Mirror.

No release date for Black Mirror Season 6 has yet been announced.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter