# Death to 2020
**Death to 2020** is a 2020 mockumentary comedy special by *Black Mirror* creators [Charlie Brooker](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-brooker) and Annabel Jones, released on Netflix on 27 December 2020. It is a retrospective of the year 2020 that combines real archival news footage with scripted interviews from fictitious talking heads played by well-known actors, narrated by [Laurence Fishburne](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-fishburne).[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81332175) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 70-minute spoof documentary mixing real 2020 news footage with fictitious expert and commentator interviews[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html) |
| Creators | Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, created and executive produced under their Broke and Bones production company as a Netflix original[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81332175) |
| Release | Netflix, Sunday 27 December 2020[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html) |
| Narrator | Laurence Fishburne, providing deadpan linking narration[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis) |
| Principal cast | Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, Leslie Jones, Diane Morgan, Cristin Milioti, Joe Keery[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81332175) |
| Critical reception | 45% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (22 reviews) and a Metacritic Metascore of 41, rated mixed or average[4](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2020) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/death-to-2020/critic-reviews/) |
| Follow-up | A sequel special, *Death to 2021*, was released on Netflix the following year[6](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2021) |
## Premise and format
The special tells the story of 2020, a year Netflix's own synopsis describes as one "even the creators of Black Mirror couldn't make it up," by weaving together a chorus of narration from fictitious renowned voices with real-life archival footage spanning the previous twelve months.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81332175) Its subject matter runs from the Australian bushfires of early 2020 through the COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of [George Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-floyd) and the [Black Lives Matter](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-lives-matter) movement, and the US election.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html)The format is close in construction and spirit to Brooker's *Screenwipe*, his annual takedown of television and news media, but with a larger budget and a star-studded cast in place of Brooker's own curmudgeonly on-screen hosting.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis) Brooker had already addressed the pandemic that year in *Antiviral Wipe*, broadcast by the BBC during the first lockdown.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis)
## Characters and cast
The talking heads are fictional experts and commentators with contrasting perspectives. [Samuel L. Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-l-jackson) plays Dash Bracket, a New York journalist; [Hugh Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-grant) plays Tennyson Foss, a tweedy British historian; [Lisa Kudrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-kudrow) plays a craven political spokesperson, the fictional Trump aide Jeanetta Grace Susan; and Cristin Milioti plays Kathy Flowers, a suburban housewife whose liberal veneer peels away to reveal a bigoted conspiracy theorist, a character the British Film Institute's review notes was modeled in part on Amy Cooper, the Central Park birdwatching incident caller of May 2020.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html) • [8](https://www.thedailybeast.com/friends-star-lisa-kudrow-goes-viral-for-spot-on-karoline-leavitt-impression/) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis)
[Tracey Ullman](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracey-ullman) plays Queen Elizabeth II, and [Diane Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-morgan), known for her Philomena Cunk character, plays Gemma Nerrick, a self-described average citizen who believes there is a fictional television program called 'America' shown on the news channels.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html) • [9](https://blog.uclfilm.com/2021/01/07/death-to-2020-review/) [Joe Keery](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-keery) plays Duke Goolies, an entitled white male "content provider" whose performative Black Lives Matter solidarity the *Sight and Sound* review read as an effective skewering of online profiteering.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis)
## Reception
The special was released to largely negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 45% Tomatometer from 22 critic reviews, while audiences gave it 60% on the Popcornmeter from more than 500 ratings.[4](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2020) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 41, "mixed or average," with 8 of its 12 listed critic reviews negative, 2 mixed, and 2 positive.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/death-to-2020/critic-reviews/)
**Common criticisms.** Ed Cumming's one-star review in *The Independent* called the show "a mess" that could not decide whether it was for a British or an American audience, and noted that the credits list 18 writers, asking how many it took to come up with the idea that [Joe Biden](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-biden) is old.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html) *The Telegraph* gave it two stars, calling it a "disappointing rehash of tired jokes and predictable satire," and the *Evening Standard*, also at two stars, said it "outstays its welcome" despite praising the performances.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html) *The Hollywood Reporter* called it "a generally hacky piece of recycled political satire and tired documentary parody" that would feel fresh only to viewers who had imposed a media blackout since February.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/death-to-2020/critic-reviews/)
**Points of praise.** Reviewers were not uniformly negative. The *Los Angeles Times* scored it 80, calling it a "bitingly funny, hastily assembled and slightly deranged comedic retrospective."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/death-to-2020/critic-reviews/) Hugh Grant's Tennyson Foss received the most praise among the roles, described as a rare highlight of the production.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html) A Metro review found it "stands out on its own" apart from *Black Mirror* and the Wipe shows, while faulting the writing team for spreading the film too thin and underusing some cast members.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html) The *Sight and Sound* review highlighted Fishburne's narration branding Trump an "experimental pig-man" and Joe Biden an "amiable phantom," and judged Milioti's Kathy Flowers the best of the character performances.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis)
## Relationship to Brooker's earlier work
Commentators read the special against Brooker's Wipe format, honed over many years into a balance of commentary, news footage, and spoof talking heads, in which Brooker himself served as the acerbic host. *Death to 2020* replaced him with Fishburne as narrator and shifted the target in places from mocking media coverage to the subjects themselves, a change several reviewers identified as altering the character of the show.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis) The first episode of *Screenwipe*, from 2006, credited only Brooker and Robert Popper as writers; *Death to 2020* lists 18, a comparison one *Independent* feature used to argue that the special had lost the edge of the earlier format.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/death-to-2020-review-charlie-brooker-b1780848.html)
## Legacy
Netflix followed the special with *Death to 2021*, a sequel using the same mix of real news footage and scripted talking-head interviews to send up the following year.[6](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2021) Clips from the special have continued to circulate: in August 2025, Lisa Kudrow's 2020 performance as Jeanetta Grace Susan went viral on social media, with users comparing the character's evasive defenses to press briefings by [Karoline Leavitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/karoline-leavitt), appointed White House press secretary in 2025.[8](https://www.thedailybeast.com/friends-star-lisa-kudrow-goes-viral-for-spot-on-karoline-leavitt-impression/)
## References
1. [Death to 2020, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81332175)
2. [Death to 2020 reviews: Charlie Brooker's 'disappointing' Netflix mockumentary torn apart by critics, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2020-reviews-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779257.html)
3. [Death to 2020 review: rear-view horror, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/death-2020-charlie-brooker-netflix-satire-annus-horribilis)
4. [Death to 2020 (2020), Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2020)
5. [Death To 2020 critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/death-to-2020/critic-reviews/)
6. [Death to 2021 (2021), Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_2021)
7. [Death to 2020 review: Charlie Brooker's Netflix mockumentary is a complete mess, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/death-to-2020-review-netflix-charlie-brooker-b1779227.html)
8. ['Friends' Star Goes Viral for Spot-On Karoline Leavitt Impression, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/friends-star-lisa-kudrow-goes-viral-for-spot-on-karoline-leavitt-impression/)
9. ['Death to 2020' Review, UCL Film & TV Society Journal](https://blog.uclfilm.com/2021/01/07/death-to-2020-review/)
10. [The rough edges of TV are being sanded down – Charlie Brooker's disastrous Death to 2020 proves it, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/death-to-2020-review-charlie-brooker-b1780848.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Episodic-form concepts › Special and themed episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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