Black Mirror – Joan is Awful (2023) Review

Black Mirror – Joan is Awful – Review

Director: Ally Pankiw

Writer: Charlie Brooker (Screenplay)

Cast

Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek)
Salma Hayek (Eternals)
Ben Barnes (Seventh Son)
Michael Cera (Superbad)
Himesh Patel (Yesterday)

Plot: An average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life – in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek.

Runtime: 58 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Joan is Awful starts as we meet average everyday businesswoman Joan (Murphy). She has been struggling with the routine of life believing everything in her life is only safe, not exciting. Joan looks to settle down for an evening of television with her partner Krish. However, when they find a show on the streaming platform called ‘Joan is Awful’ it reflects Joan’s own life.

As her fellow employees start watching the show, the different members of the office react to their own character. Meanwhile, Joan finds herself seeing her world start crashing around her. She faces a rush against time to fix things before she loses everything in her life.

Verdict on Black Mirror – Joan is Awful

Black Mirror – Joan is Awful follows a businesswoman who sees her life come crashing down around her after a new show following her life starts streaming. It shows her life to the world, and she learns that she isn’t as nice as she first thought. Leading her to try to figure out how to stop things.

This is a story that is designed to send a warning about signing terms and conditions without reading them. While South Park has done this before, this gets to dive into a more serious reflection on how entertainment can be consumed. It plays into the idea that CPU-creating shows can ruin people in different ways. This does have a great concept that does seem to get more exciting in the last 10 minutes while struggling in the early part of the show.

Where to Watch: Black Mirror – Joan is Awful is available on Netflix now.

Final Thoughts – Black Mirror – Joan is Awful is a strong start to the latest series.