Failing to maintain a good score can result in you being barred from flights and trains, having your Internet speed throttled, determining what kind of job you can get, and more. China, where a “social credit system” is being developed as a way to assign a score to people depending on how well they do on a number of social measures, whether it’s jaywalking, spending money unwisely, playing too many video games, missing a payment, or committing a crime.We don’t have the AR vision implants that show us everyone’s ratings floating over their heads, but we do have, or have had: Reality: all of this exists in some form already. Extra spoiler alert: this does not go well. Your rating determines your social class, but it also plays into more tangible parts of your life, from rent discounts to cancer treatments. “Nosedive” is “on the nose” with this one, centering around a world where every social interaction we have, from getting coffee to having a conversation, is rated in an Uber-like transaction. Prediction: At some point we could find ourselves in a reality where a lot of our life (rent, jobs, dating opportunities, etc.) depends on how other people rate us. That’s a common trick, and they probably don’t have anything on you. Your computer most likely isn’t on there, but it doesn’t take much to hack a cheap baby monitor camera.Ī little paranoia about personal cybersecurity is probably a good thing, but don’t get so scared that you fall for something like the email scam where someone claims they have compromising footage of you and demands payment. There are even dozens of sites hosting live streams from unsecured Internet-connected webcams. Your webcam can be hacked, your computer can be hacked, and electronic blackmail is nothing new. Reality: While this exact scenario hasn’t happened, there’s nothing in it that couldn’t be real.
Perhaps the best part? Thanks to Star Trek: Picard offering a complimentary free month of CBS-All Access, you won't have to pay for this trip to the Zone at all.In “Shut Up and Dance” vigilante hackers take it upon themselves to collect incriminating evidence against a number of people, then use their mobile phones to send them on a punishing series of errands. And, because so many of the stories demonstrate what it's like when the world unravels, it's the absolute perfect show to watch right now. The series is simultaneously more old-fashion and riskier than Black Mirror. Jordan Peele's new Twilight Zone tackles all of these questions in ways that you probably won't see coming. Do meteors cause people to go insane? Are you really living in a TV show? Are certain guns alive? What would happen to immigrants from alternate dimensions? Yes, you've got one episode set aboard a spaceship and another one set in a normal town, pretty much back to back. Not every episode will be everyone cup-of-creepy-tea, but that's kind of the point. To be clear, this series is not your parent's version of The Twilight Zone and is a billion times more political. And yet, there's a very good chance you've missed this show.
Yes, when it was announced that the absolutely brilliant Jordan Peele would be hosting and producing a new version of The Zone, the internet rejoiced. Of all the shows on this list, the newly rebooted version of The Twilight Zone is easily the most underrated and overlooked. But, don't say you haven't been warned.įor fans of Black Mirror who like: Strong social statements. And if you're put-off by the self-serving introduction where Ray Bradbury talks about how great his imagination is, I'm sorry. Warning: the production value is very low-budget '80s. And from Jeff Goldblum to William Shatner, to Drew Barrymore, the guest cast is also amazing. Whether its book-police being tricked into seeing their robot duplicates murdered, or time travel stories involving dinosaurs, this show is packed with nearly every conceivable sci-fi trope you (or Bradbury) can imagine. But, regardless if you're Bradbury savvy or not, this overlooked '80s classic essentially adapts some of Bradbury's best short stories into bite-sized stories worthy of Black Mirror premises. In fact, I envy you! I would love to rediscover the brilliant and subversive work of one of the greatest science fiction (and horror!) writers of all time. If you've never read the short fiction or excellent novels by Ray Bradbury, I don't pity you at all. Ray Bradbury Theater (1985)įor fans of Black Mirror who like: Weird sci-fi stories with celebrity guest actors.