Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn't make it up… but that doesn't mean they don't have a little something to add. This comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? The documentary-style special weaves together some of the world's most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage.
Death to 2020 is a Netflix mockumentary-style comedy special from the Black Mirror creators that riffs on the chaos of 2020 using a blend of fictional talking-head interviews and real archival footage. The plot is essentially non-existent — it's a loose chronological tour through 2020's greatest hits (COVID, elections, social unrest), which gives it a scattershot, sketch-comedy feel rather than a cohesive narrative. The ensemble cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Cristin Milioti, Kumail Nanjiani, Lisa Kudrow among others) is game and delivers solid comedic performances, elevating the material noticeably. Cinematographically it's functional but unremarkable, leaning on the standard mockumentary talking-head setup. The novelty lies in the Black Mirror team's sardonic lens applied to a real historical year — a reasonably fresh conceit — though the observational humor about 2020 events quickly feels familiar and the jokes date rapidly. The ending lands with a whimper, offering little catharsis or punchline beyond 'well, here comes 2021,' a deflating non-conclusion that mirrors the exhaustion of the year itself but doesn't make for satisfying comedy closure.