Warning: Contains spoilers for Black Mirror season six.
Black Mirror is finally back on our Netflix screens and, as predicted, we’re utterly obsessed. The new season features five brand-new tales to make us question our current reality, unsettle us, and ultimately add some much needed entertainment to our evenings.
Easily one of the most entertaining episodes in the series is the first of season six: “Joan Is Awful.” Starring Annie Murphy as Joan, “Joan Is Awful” tells the story of a woman who finds her entire life is being played out for the world to see on a new Streamberry show (which bears a striking resemblance to Netflix) of which she has no control over.
She’s played by Salma Hayek in the Streamberry series, and after finding out neither of them are in control of their image, they plan on taking down the computer that’s creating the show.
The reason Joan is not in control of her life being played out onscreen is because of this teeny tiny, but not unimportant thing called the terms and conditions. Yep. As her lawyer explains, after Joan bursts into her office to demand what can be done to stop this show from destroying her life, her lawyer reveals there’s nothing she can do, as she technically agreed to it when she accepted the terms and conditions after signing up for her Streamberry account on her phone.
The Netflix series hilariously pokes fun at how no one ever really reads the terms and conditions when they sign up for a membership.
And now, viewers are joking on social media that they’re deep-diving into their own Netflix terms and conditions just to double check that their life isn’t going to get made into a TV show.
One person on Twitter said: “this first ep of black mirror..should i start reading these terms and conditions.”
Another joked about the T&Cs while sharing a clip of Adele: “Me reading the terms and conditions of Netflix after Joan is Awful #blackmirror.”
And another shared a classic meme with the caption: “Me, reading the terms & conditions after watching #JoanIsAwful #BlackMirror”
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This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Thankfully, we’ve checked the Netflix terms and conditions and it looks like our lives won’t be getting turned into a series anytime soon.
But we’ll definitely be reading the T&Cs from now on.
Black Mirror season six is available on Netflix now.
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers celeb, TV and film for the site, magazine and video, as well as work/life, interiors and travel. In previous roles, Lydia covered news, features and the occasional TikTok trend, and has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Kardashians, Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. You can follow Lydia on Instagram and Twitter.