The team behind Black Mirror’s newest mockumentary, Death to 2020, has no shortage of celebrity cameos.
This year we’ve often felt like we’re in a real-life Black Mirror episode. From the global pandemic to worldwide protests for human rights to an even crazier presidential election in the United States, this year is something no television writer could ever conceive of. It seems that the creators of Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, knew this because they’ve taken it upon themselves to produce a mockumentary about this historic year. Releasing on December 27th on Netflix, Death to 2020 is meant to cap off this year on a lighter note. Not only that but there are also a host of celebrities boarding the project.
Netflix released a teaser trailer for Death to 2020 two weeks ago with the full cast list. There is a large heft of comedic talent in the film, including Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, and Leslie Jones. On the dramatic side, Hugh Grant and Samuel L. Jackson will appear in major roles. Grant noted in an interview for his HBO series The Undoing, “Charlie Brooker has written a mockumentary about 2020. It’s for Netflix. I’m pretty repellent, actually! And you’ll like my wig.”
At first, it was assumed the celebrity talent would be playing themselves. However, each actor will be portraying a character affected by the events of 2020. Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Jones, and Hugh Grant play various experts such as a reporter, a behavioral psychologists, and a historian. On the more ridiculous side, Lisa Kudrow will be portraying a conservative spokesperson meant to address the growing economic concern in the United States due to the pandemic while Tracey Ullman will be an exaggerated version of Queen Elizabeth II.
Death to 2020 isn’t just focusing on the older generations. Joe Keery, of Stranger Things fame, was featured prominently in the trailer as a gig economy millennial. Meanwhile, Kumail Nanjiani will offer a perspective on how the media has changed this year from his role as a tech CEO. Playing a trapped at home soccer mom is Cristin Milioti from How I Met Your Mother. Topping off it in the most perfectly dystopian way, Lawrence Fishburn, who you might know as Morbius from The Matrix franchise, will be narrating the mockumentary.
