"I always loved those unsettling anthology shows, where you didn't know what you were going to get, but you knew it was going to be a bit off-kilter, entertain you and often disturb you. So Black Mirror sprang out from wanting to do that."

In late 2011, Charlie Brooker brought us the apparently far-fetched tale of a Prime Minister forced to make love to a pig – and single-handedly revived the anthology format that had died out years before, with the end of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.

Netflix

Here's everything you need to know about the show's future – where, when and how to watch and what to expect from season three:

Black Mirror episode reviews: what's it like?

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Here's brief, non-spoilery plot summaries for the six new Black Mirror episodes:

Nosedive:Insecure office worker Lacie (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives in a happy, smiley, status-obsessed nightmare world. Her old friend Naomi (Alice Eve) is one of society's elites -- and Lacie may have found a way to join her…

You can read our full review of 'Nosedive' here.

Playtest: Thrill-seeking globetrotter Cooper (Wyatt Russell) visits Britain, hooks up with Sonja (Hannah John-Kamen) -- and tests a video game so advanced, it's terrifying…

And our review of 'Playtest' is right here.

Shut Up and Dance: When withdrawn 19-year-old Kenny (Alex Lawther) stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector (Jerome Flynn) – both of them at the mercy of persons unknown.

Want to read our full 'Shut Up And Dance' review? Here's where to go.

San Junipero: California, 1987: San Junipero is a fun-loving beach town synonymous with sun, surf, and sex. And for recent arrivals Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), it's going to be a life-changer…

Here's our full review of 'San Junipero'

Men Against Fire: Future soldiers Stripe (Malachi Kirby) and Raiman (Madeline Brewer) must protect frightened villagers from an infestation of vicious feral mutants. Technologically, they have the edge – but will that help them survive?

Our review of 'Men Against Fire' is right here

Hated in the Nation: In near-future London, police detective Karin Parke (Kelly McDonald) and her tech-savvy sidekick Blue (Faye Marsay) investigate a string of mysterious deaths with a sinister link to social media.

'Hated in the Nation' is also a feature length episode, running to 90 minutes. "It's like a movie – and it's about online anger... so it's a feel-good fable!" Brooker said.

"On Netflix, we could do two-hour episodes or two-minute episodes, although a two-minute episode would be shit!"

Here's the Digital Spy review of 'Hated In The Nation'

What else you can expect

Expect "more variety of tone": "Because we're doing six stories this time around, we wanted to not always fling you into a pit of despair," says Brooker. "Sometimes we kick a few f**king hope biscuits at you on your way down."

More details: there'll be a wonderful and varied roster of musicians to score the new episodes, including composer Ben Salisbury and Portishead's Geoff Barrow, who previously teamed on the score for Ex Machina.

Also on board are The Leftovers composer Max Richter, The Walking Dead's Bear McCreary, and Clint Mansell – who's scored everything from Requiem for a Dream to Black Swan to High-Rise.

Netflix

Black Mirror season 3 air-date: when will it air?

It's already out there: you can watch the first six episodes on Netflix right now. The remaining six will air later at an unspecified time.

Black Mirror episodes: how many are we getting?

Netflix originally ordered 12 new episodes – the largest single order the show has ever received.

As for the six additional instalments, they'll form a fourth season, with Oscar winner Jodie Foster already on board to direct an episode starring Rosemarie DeWitt.

Netflix

Black Mirror cast: who's appearing in season 3?

- 'San Junipero' features Gugu Mbatha-Raw and The Martian's Mackenzie Davis, and is directed by Owen Harris (Kill Your Friends).

- 'Shut Up and Dance' stars Game of Thrones actor Jerome Flynn opposite The Imitation Game's Alex Lawther, with James Watkins (Bastille Day) directing.

- 'Nosedive' has James Norton, opposite Bryce Dallas Howard and Alice Eve, in an episode directed by Joe Wright (Atonement) – and co-written by Rashida Jones and her old Parks and Recreation boss Mike Schur.

Laurie Sparham/Netflix

- House of Cards actor Michael Kelly appears in 'Men Against Fire' alongside Malachi Kirby and Madeline Brewer. The Fall's Jakob Verbruggen directs.

- 'Hated in the Nation' features Kelly MacDonald in an episode helmed by Doctor Who's James Hawes.

- Finally Wyatt Russell appears in 'Playtest' opposite Hannah John-Kamen and Wunmi Mosaku, with 10 Cloverfield Lane's Dan Trachtenberg on directing duties.

Wait - didn't Black Mirror use to be on Channel 4?

Yep - Channel 4 was the show's original home, until Brooker and his production company House of Tomorrow struck a deal with Netflix in September 2015 to make new episodes.

"It's all very exciting - a whole new bunch of Black Mirror episodes on the most fitting platform imaginable," Brooker enthused at the time of the announcement.

"Netflix connects us with a global audience so that we can create bigger, stranger, more international and diverse stories than before, whilst maintaining that Black Mirror feel."

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Shortly after the announcement was made, Channel 4 insisted that it still had "first-look rights to new episodes in the UK" - suggesting that it'd air new Black Mirror before episodes were made available on Netflix UK.

However, it later transpired that the broadcaster had indeed lost the show outright to Netflix and would not be airing the latest series after all. Ouch.

Though he hasn't disclosed full details of the deal, Brooker's implied that he certainly didn't 'jump ship' to Netflix: "Somebody didn't just come out and wave a cheque and we ran away from Channel 4 towards it, put it that way."

Black Mirror US version: Could there be a remake?

Back in Jan 2014, Cris Abrego and Charlie Corwin - the co-CEOs of Endemol Shine North America - revealed that they were working on a US adaptation of Black Mirror.

Corwin explained that there was "a plan" in place to develop the new series - BUT this was before Black Mirror landed on Netflix US in 2014 - and certainly before the streaming service ordered new original episodes.

Given that these new episodes will be servicing an international audience, odds are that plans for US Black Mirror have been folded into this new 12-part season.

Black Mirror movie: Could there be a film?

It's possible there could be even more Black Mirror - and on the big screen, with none other than Robert Downey Jr. purchasing the film rights to season one's 'The Entire History of You' in early 2013.

Officially Digital Spy's favourite episode of the entire series, the original episode starred Toby Kebbell as a man living in a world where every word and action is recorded for posterity - and is the only episode of Black Mirror not to be either written or co-written by Brooker.

Downey Jr. reportedly beat out George Clooney in a bidding war to win the rights… but three years on, there's been no official word on the project since.

In January 2014, Brooker revealed there had been "all sorts of conversations" about taking Black Mirror to the multiplexes: "They're high-concept ideas and that's the sort of thing that lends itself to being remade as a film."

But a year on, he admitted that he had no clue what was happening with the Downey Jr. project - or if it was even still active.

"That's not really to do with me, because that was written by Jesse [Armstrong]," he told Radio Times. "I literally don't know anything that's going on with that."

Sounds like this one's stuck in development hell - the Iron Man movies might be the closest we'll get to seeing Downey Jr. tackle a tale of terrifying tech.

If it ever does materialise, though, Brooker's hinted that the film version would be very different to the televised 'Entire History of You' - with more of a "conspiracy thriller" element.

Ranking all 19 episodes of Charlie Brooker's chilling Black Mirror

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