Death to 2020: Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones discuss new Netflix special

"It's not about the magnitude of the crisis, it was the lunacy that accompanied it."

Death to 2020 is coming this Christmas - and thank god for that. The Netflix special, which is a one-off comedy event and not a new episode of Black Mirror, is a satirical look back at the year that was. A documentary-style show featuring input from some of the world's most famous (and fictional) faces, Death to 2020 will take viewers on a journey through 2020, remembering the year that everybody wants to forget. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, Lisa Kudrow, Diane Morgan, Leslie Jones, and many more instantly recognisable folks, Death to 2020 was initially expected to be a Black Mirror special about the year that was. Series creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones have since confirmed, however, that Death to 2020 has nothing to do with Black Mirror. It is, in fact, a one-off comedy special that's been in the making since July, with a script that has changed a lot along the way. "It's tricky to do something when it's a moving target, but it's been quite a reactive script," says Brooker. "It's changed a lot of the way through. "I couldn't deliver a first draft in July of what was going to happen in December. It's been sort of seeping out and dribbling forth. It was constantly changing." Brooker, who has won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on Black Mirror, says that despite the special's focus on 2020, "there's quite a hefty gag rate." "There's a lot of silliness in it," he says. "There's some stupid jokes [...] I've always been a very paranoid person, so when [Covid] happened, on some level I pivoted to a strange kind of optimism. "That dread and anxiety, it's real. You're not worrying about a great unknown, you're trying to deal with it. If I'd have written the Black Mirror pandemic, it would have been violent and society would have turned to dust. "Generally speaking, now we know now that your neighbour is more likely to help you than fight you for a bottle of water." Co-creator Jones adds that the new special was borne out of the uncertainty of the news cycle - and the knowledge that no matter what happened, the world would keep engaging with it. "What's unified this year was the focus on huge global stories - Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, and the US election," she says. "We've begun to realise we're all part of a globe, and one thing that happens can affect the whole world. Coronavirus is making people aware that we can't hide anymore." Lisa Kudrow, who stars in the special, says that despite the pain and fear that 2020 has caused, ultimately, audiences will need to laugh about it. "Every time there's a crisis, I realise how important entertainment is," she says. "Let's laugh as soon as we can about it, and this [show] will be there for when you are ready to laugh about it. "It's not about the magnitude of the crisis, it was the lunacy that accompanied it." Death to 2020 lands on Netflix on December 27.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxR9Zo36rbo