'Black Mirror' adds more star power for Season 6 with Salma Hayek Pinault and Annie Murphy

Though Black Mirror is best known as a showcase for dark science fiction stories, it's also achieved worldwide success in part because it doubles as a major showcase for actors. Whether we're talking about up-and-coming talent or established stars, doing an episode of Black Mirror allows an actor to work on some very intriguing concepts within the confines of a self-contained story, which means they get to dig deep, then move on to whatever else they're working on. It's no wonder the show has attracted so many big names over the years, and the upcoming sixth season will be no different. 

Announced earlier this year, Black Mirror Season 6 will boast an all-star ensemble that includes Josh Hartnett, Zazie Beetz, Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, and more. Now, we can add two more names to the list. Variety reports that Oscar nominee Salma Hayek Pinault and Emmy winner Annie Murphy have both joined the cast for the next round of episodes. 

A screen legend with a long list of credits including From Dusk Till Dawn, Frida, Desperado, and House of Gucci, genre fans most recently saw Hayek Pinault in Marvel's Eternals, in which she played Ajak. Murphy is best known for playing Alexis Rose on the acclaimed sitcom Schitt's Creek, and recently earned more acclaim for her work in Season 2 of Netflix's Russian Doll and in her own acclaimed dark comedy, Kevin Can F*** Himself. 

As with every other major player announced for the new season so far, we have no idea who Hayek Pinault and Murphy will be playing, or which episodes of the new season they'll be featured in. We also don't know yet what the focus of the new episodes will be, as creator Charlie Brooker and his team have yet to reveal any major details about the season. Variety does report, though, that we can expect more episodes this time around than the short, three-episode installment we got with Season 5 back in 2019. 

Black Mirror Season 6 does not yet have an announced release date, but when the series returns to Netflix in the near future, it will do so in a world that has seen a global pandemic, a major U.S. election, and a war in Eastern Europe, among many other strange happenings. Who knows what dark futures Brooker and company have dreamed up in light of all that?

For more dystopian sci-fi fun, try heading over to Peacock and checking out Brave New World.