Black Mirror season 3 episodes 1, 2 and 3 plot details revealed

The episode 'Nosedive' sounds stingingly poignant

Episode 1 - 'San Junipero' (Netflix)

Black Mirror returns for a souped up, big budget third season on 21 October - through Netflix this time, which claims to have given creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones complete creative control over the six new episodes.

The first three will premiere at London Film Festival on 6 September, following a discussion and Q&A with Brooker, Jones and ‘Nosedive’ episode director Joe Wright.

Here’s the very brief synopses we’ve been given for them:

S03E01 - ’San Junipero’

'California, 1987: San Junipero is a fun-loving beach town synonymous with sun, surf, and sex. And for recent arrivals Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), it’s going to be a life-changer…'

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights) plays Kelly, Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire) plays Yorkie

Director: Owen Harris

Filmed in: South Africa

S03E02 - ‘Shut Up and Dance’

'When withdrawn 19-year-old Kenny (Alex Lawther) stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector (Jerome Flynn) – both of them at the mercy of persons unknown.'

Cast: Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game) plays Kenny, Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) plays Hector

Director: James Watkins (The Woman in Black)

Written By: Will Bridges and Charlie Brooker

Filmed in: London

S03E03 - ‘Nosedive’

'Insecure office worker Lacie (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives in a happy, smiley, status-obsessed nightmare world. Her old friend Naomi (Alice Eve) is one of society’s elites -- and Lacie may have found a way to join her…'

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) plays Leigh, Alice Eve (Star Trek: Into Darkness) plays Naomi. Also starring James Norton (Happy Valley) and Cherry Jones (Awake).

Director: Joe Wright (Atonement)

Written By: Rashida Jones, Mike Schur and Charlie Brooker

Filmed in: London & Cape Town

Episodes two and three are expected to be riffs on revenge social media outings and the thirst for Likes respectively, but no doubt they will be a lot more nuanced than that.

The episodes might seem quite disparate in terms of style, narrative and genre, but the BFI insists they ‘compliment each other beautifully, offering up complex and sophisticated ideas around the concept of agency in a technologically advanced world’.

Episodes 4, 5 and 6, which there are no plot details on yet, are titled 'Men Against Fire', 'Hated in the Nation' and 'Playtest'.

We’ll have spoiler-free reviews of the first three eps up for you ASAP.