We were lucky enough to be a part of the global press conference for the new Netflix show from the creator of Black Mirror.
Charlie Brooker, as you’ll read just few a paragraphs from now, freely admits to being a cynical man.
Of course, that will come as no surprise to the mind behind the Black Mirror series, as well as the scathing Yearly Wipes he provided for BBC – it is clear Brooker enjoyably leans into his more cynical side.
So you would think that after a year like this, he would very much be in his element, and that looks to be the case with the arrival of his new Netflix special, Death to 2020.
As part of the global press conference, which Lovin was lucky enough to be invited to, Brooker chatted about his new show alongside fellow co-creator Annabel Jones, as well as cast members Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley), Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Leslie Jones (SNL), Cristin Milioti (Fargo) and Joe Keery (Stranger Things).
While the cast and creators discussed the sort-of-mockumentary (it will feature the actors as fictional characters, but discussing the real world events of 2020), the conversation was obviously wrapped up in all of the bad news that the year brought with it, but one of the questions the panel was asked was about any of the positive highlights of 2020 that stands out in their minds.
After everyone else had already discussed theirs – Lisa Kudrow talked about the saving grace that was entertainment during lockdown, for example – Brooker answered last, finding it more difficult to think of one (which, y’know, is fair), before finally deciding on one:
“It slightly took me by surprise, and we managed to get it into [Death to 2020]. It was the vaccine, when it was approved in the UK, and they injected the first person in the world, the first civilian. It was this 90-year-old woman, and they wheeled her into the hospital, and she’s just wearing a t-shirt with a cat on it or something, she was very dressed for the occasion.
“She was being injected, and I was watching it, and I’m a cynical person, and I found myself… I had burst into tears. I was literally racked with sobs at my desk, in a way that never happens in my life!
“I think it was the relief and the joy of it, and just being so grateful to the scientists who had been working on this, and this palpable image of hope. There have been several cathartic and hopeful releases in the year, so maybe we’ll back on it as the best year ever, yeah?”
Sorry Charlie, but for some reason, we doubt it.
Outside of the above mentioned cast, Death to 2020 will also feature Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Tracy Ullman, and will be narrated by Laurence Fishburne, and it arrives on Netflix on Sunday, December 27.
This interview was edited slightly for clarity.
Main image via BBC/Antivial Wipe
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