Black Mirror: “Joan Is Awful” (2023)

Up until now, I’ve avoided this Netflix show, mainly because of the mind-bending way the storylines are developed. But, I watched this first episode from its newly released season six, on the advice of my daughter, Rosanna.

An average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life – in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek.

IMDb

Frankly, I’m surprised that Netflix would even air this parody of their streaming platform, namely as Streamberry, which is a nod to Apple, too.

The lesson here is to ensure that you read the fine print when you sign up for a streaming service, otherwise you could become the subject of an AI-generated television show, with or without your expressed permission.

Back after a four-year hiatus, the long-awaited sixth season of “Black Mirror” opens — fittingly — with “Joan is Awful,” an exploration of the dubious inner workings of a fictional streaming service called Streamberry.

Streamberry, which bears more than a passing resemblance to “Black Mirror’s” IRL producing partner Netflix, co-opts users’ lives to create AI-driven, CGI-rendered semi-fictional dramas without its subjects’ consent. Kind of like, say, “Inventing Anna” (which had the consent of the eponymous Anna Delvey, but not her erstwhile BFF Rachel Williams, who sued the streamer for defamation last year) or “The Crown” or “The Tinder Swindler” or “Narcos” or… you get the gist.

Variety

You have been warned!