Black Mirror - Production

The first two series of the programme were produced by Zeppotron for Endemol. An Endemol press release described the series as "a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world", with the stories having a "techno-paranoia" feel. Channel 4 describes the first episode as "a twisted parable for the Twitter age". Black Mirror series 1 had a limited DVD release for PAL / Region 2 on 27 February 2012. This was followed by a DVD release of series 2, also PAL for region 2 only.

According to Brooker (speaking to SFX) the production team considered giving the series some kind of linking theme or presenter, but ultimately it was decided not to do so: "There were discussions. Do we set them all in the same street? Do we have some characters who appear in each episode, a bit Three Colours: Blue/White/Red style? We did think about having a character who introduces them, Tales from the Crypt style, or like Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock or Roald Dahl, because most anthology shows did have that... but the more we thought about it, we thought it was a bit weird."

Charlie Brooker explained the series' title to The Guardian, noting: "If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The 'black mirror' of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone."

In 2013, Robert Downey, Jr. optioned the episode "The Entire History of You" (written by Jesse Armstrong) to potentially be made into a film by Warner Bros. and his own production company Team Downey.

In September 2015, Netflix commissioned a third season of 12 episodes, which was later divided into two seasons of six episodes. The third-season cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, James Norton, Cherry Jones, Wyatt Russell, Alex Lawther, Jerome Flynn, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mackenzie Davis, Michael Kelly, Malachi Kirby, Kelly Macdonald and Faye Marsay. The directors for the third season include Joe Wright, Jakob Verbruggen, James Hawes, and Dan Trachtenberg. The third season was released on Netflix worldwide on 21 October 2016. Channel 4 will not air the third season after Netflix outbid them for the rights, spending $40 million. A trailer for the third season was released in October 2016. In October 2016, it was announced that Jodie Foster will direct an episode of the fourth series starring Rosemarie DeWitt.

In October 2016, Brooker revealed that he had ideas of where sequels to both "White Bear" and "Be Right Back" would go, but it was unlikely that either would be made. He also revealed that actors had been approached to return to the series, but were not available, although Hannah John-Kamen does appear in "Playtest" after appearing in an unrelated role in "Fifteen Million Merits". Furthermore, Brooker also stated that there were some characters in the series three episode "Hated in the Nation" who could potentially recur.