Charlie Brooker swaps dread for detective spoof with Netflix's Blackmere
Rory Kinnear has joined Charlie Brooker's new Netflix series Blackmere, an absurdist comedy posing as a dead-serious crime thriller.
Netflix gave the show its first public outing at its UK upfronts in London, a showcase event where broadcasters preview coming programmes. Details were reported by Deadline on 24 September.
Blackmere is Brooker's next project for the streamer. It is described as an absurdist comedy disguised as an incredibly serious crime thriller. That is the whole joke in one line.
Paddy Considine leads as tormented detective John Blackmere. His character leaves the northern city of Bleakford for London to avenge his partner's death and hunt a ritualistic serial killer.
Kinnear joins Considine alongside Georgina Campbell and Lena Headey. No character details for the three have been released yet.
The casting is a reunion. Kinnear starred in the very first episode of Brooker's Black Mirror as a fictional prime minister. Black Mirror began on Channel 4 in Britain before moving to Netflix from its third season, according to SlashFilm. That opening episode put Kinnear's prime minister at the centre of a notorious storyline involving a pig, as noted by The Independent.
Blackmere is Brooker's first Netflix project since Black Mirror. He created the series and wrote it with Ben Caudell, Jason Hazeley, Emer Kenny, Daniel Maier and Joel Morris. Victoria Asare Archer provides additional material.
Behind the camera, Brooker executive produces alongside Annabel Jones and Jessica Rhoades. Mark Kinsella is co-executive producer, Richard Webb is producer, and Al Campbell is directing. The show is being produced in-house by Netflix, rather than by an outside production company.
What makes this stand out is the shift in tone. Black Mirror built its name on dark technology tales. Blackmere keeps the bleak detective shape and fills it with comedy.
Blackmere will air early next year, meaning early 2027. The same London showcase also set 5 November for Black Doves Season 2, starring Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire.
