Death to 2021
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| Death to 2021 | |
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 Title card | |
| Directed by |
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| Written by | Ben Caudell |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Laurence Fishburne |
Production companies | Broke and Bones |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
Death to 2021 is a 2021 mockumentary produced by Netflix. A sequel to Death to 2020, the special features a series of fictional characters discussing US news in 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine misinformation and Big Tech.
Cast[edit]
Credits adapted from Radio Times.[1]
- Hugh Grant as Tennyson Foss, a right-wing historian
- Joe Keery as Duke Goolies, a social media influencer
- William Jackson Harper as Zero Fournine, a social media company CEO
- Lucy Liu as Snook Austin, a journalist
- Tracey Ullman as Madison Madison, a far-right conspiracy theorist news anchor
- Samson Kayo as Pyrex Flask, a scientist researching SARS-CoV-2
- Stockard Channing as Penn Parker, a journalist
- Cristin Milioti as Kathy Flowers, a mother who supports Donald Trump and believes conspiracy theories
- Diane Morgan as Gemma Nerrick, a member of the public
Production[edit]
Death to 2021 was a sequel to Death to 2020, both productions of Broke and Bones—a company founded by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, best-known for their work on science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It followed several years of Weekly Wipe specials, hosted by Brooker, that humorously recapped news events from the year.[2][3][4][5] Death to 2020 received negative critical reception.[6]
For the 2021 special, Brooker had a reduced role—a Netflix spokesperson told British Comedy Guide that he was working on other productions for the streaming service.[7][8] A number of cast from 2020 returned, but others—for example, Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing and William Jackson Harper—debuted in 2021.[9][10] Ullman plays a different character to the 2020 special—an American news anchor, rather than the Queen.[11]
Reception[edit]
Entertainment.ie's Eoghan Cannon rated the film 2.5 out of 5, saying that it would be "unwatchable" without the strong cast, and is not sufficiently memorable for viewers to remember it the next morning. However, Cannon praised the coverage of light-hearted stories.[11] Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph gave it 1 star, lambasting it as lacking originality and nuance. He negatively portrayed the absence of Brooker, calling it a negative image of Black Mirror, but praised Morgan's joking comparison of Squid Game to The Great British Bake Off.[12]
Screen Rant criticized that the special had a "refusal to talk about cultural events outside of Netflix's domain", with segments about their original productions Bridgerton and Squid Game but omitting other television and film of the year.[13] According to The National, a joke about Glasgow being part of London was well-received by Scottish viewers.[14] Bruce Dessau of Beyond the Joke wrote that Death to 2021 was targeted at an American audience, to a further extent than the previous year's special. Dessau praised Morgan, Grant and Kayo, and said that pushback to a joke about Prince Philip's death came from people "that [have] clearly not seen a Brooker programme before".[15]
References[edit]
- ^ Cremona, Patrick (December 29, 2021). "Meet the cast of Netflix comedy special Death to 2021". Radio Times. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ "Netflix's 'Death to 2020' Skewers "Trainwreck" Year in Mockumentary Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ Lynskey, Dorian (December 27, 2020). "Charlie Brooker: 'There's a certain release in laughing into the abyss'". The Guardian. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ Ravindran, Manori (January 24, 2020). "'Black Mirror' Creators Quit Endemol Shine-Owned Label While Navigating IP Headaches With Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (February 10, 2020). "'Black Mirror' Creators Charlie Brooker & Annabel Jones Waste Little Time In Launching New Production Outfit". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ O'Connor, Roisin (December 28, 2021). "Death to 2021: Hugh Grant's Tennyson Foss complains about pronouns in new Netflix show". The Independent. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Warner, Sam (December 3, 2021). "Ted Lasso and The Good Place stars cast in Death to 2021 Netflix sequel". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Richardson, Jay (December 2, 2021). "Netflix orders Death To 2021, with Nick Mohammed and Alistair Green". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Song, Katie; Hailu, Selome (December 2, 2021). "Netflix Announces 'Death to 2021,' Releases Teaser (TV News Roundup)". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Goldbart, Max (December 2, 2021). "Netflix Returns To 'Death To 2021'; Adds Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing, William Jackson Harper To Comedy Special". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Cannon, Eoghan (December 28, 2021). "'Death To 2021' proves that Charlie Brooker really needs to bring back 'Black Mirror'". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Power, Ed (December 27, 2021). "Death to 2021, review: more Trump and anti-vaxx jokes? Come back, Charlie Brooker!". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Gugliersi, Antonella (December 29, 2021). "Death to 2021 Shows Netflix Limiting Charlie Brooker". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ "Netflix's Death to 2021 trolls Scots with ridiculous Glasgow joke". The National. December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce (December 28, 2021). "Review: Death To 2021, Netflix". Beyond the Joke. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
