Death to 2020 – Charlie Brooker & Annabel Jones’ comedy event gets a trailer

DEATH TO 2020 (L to R) SAMUEL L. JACKSON as DASH BRACKET in DEATH TO 2020 Cr. SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX © 2020

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. Death to 2020 is a comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? This landmark documentary-style special weaves together some of the world’s most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage spanning the past 12 months.

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, Leslie Jones, Diane Morgan, Cristin Milioti, Joe Keery and more, Death to 2020 is the cathartic comedy event you’ll never forget about the year you really, really don’t want to remember.

Charlie Brooker said ’Those who only know me through Black Mirror may not realize that when not writing speculative sci-fi about people frowning at smartphones, I’ve spent years making comedy shows in the UK – including many topical comedy specials. So to me, Death to 2020 feels like the collision of several different strands. (Do strands ‘collide’? No. Apologies). But the approach for this is quite different to most of the topical comedy I’ve done in the past. For one thing I’m not on screen presenting it – a relief for anyone watching in 4K – and it’s more character-based. In the loneliest year on record, I got to work (remotely) with writers and team members from my previous comedies, as well as many sickeningly talented people who were new to me.

Death to 2020 features fictional characters discussing real events in a bombastic mockumentary, but quite a bit sillier than that makes it sound. It felt like an apt format for Netflix, which is known for high-end documentaries, but also like a good opportunity to create a different kind of comedy special that deals with the year head-on while also showcasing some brilliant performers. I don’t love the word “satire” but there’s some of that here, alongside some angry jokes, and some goofy jokes. And hopefully viewers will find at least one joke to their liking — because let’s face it, in 2020, any laugh you can emit, no matter how fleeting, is a small but precious victory.”

Annabel Jones added “This highly unusual year has been dominated by huge global stories affecting everyone’s lives. These form the structure of the show and we have added a few surprises along the way.”

Death to 2020 is created and executive produced by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones and produced by Alison Marlow.

It hits Netflix on 27th December 2020.