Black Mirror fans were in for a treat with the latest drop as Issa Rae made her debut on the widely popular Netflix anthology series. In the season 7 episode titled “Hotel Reverie,” Rae plays Brandy, an eager actress who is looking for an opportunity to break out of the box she was put in. However, things wind up taking a dark turn.
According to Netflix, she “must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.”
While reflecting on the episode’s subject matter, the Insecure creator revealed it was all too familiar. “I related tremendously to it,” Rae tells PEOPLE. “It feels like Hollywood is at this weird standstill where it doesn’t know which direction to go and beyond what’s familiar territory.”
The episode sees Brandy landing the lead role in a project about remaking a classic romantic movie using AI. The outlet says the release “questions the ideas of A.I. technology used to replicate actors’ likeness on screen, continuously pushing out remakes and reboots over original ideas, and the way performers can often be pigeonholed in their careers.”
“So, in that way, it feels like it’s placing all of us as creatives in this box,” The Photograph star continues.
When speaking on her character, she adds, “Brandy just wants to be outside of this box, desperately to take risks, to be seen, to be seen differently, to feel differently. She’s craving for excitement that she’s not getting in her real life, which obviously prompts her to take this big risk.”
The latest season also boasts guest appearances from Rashida Jones, Tracee Ellis Ross, Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Emma Corrin, Cristin Milioti, and more. Check out the trailer above.
Black Mirror debuted in December 2011 and returned in 2016 after a hiatus in 2014. It provides thought-provoking commentary on contemporary social issues through episodes set in near-future dystopias. The successful series has garnered critical acclaim and collected accolades for it’s forward-thinking plots, with some of its most culturally heralded and awarded episodes being “San Junipero,” “USS Callister,” and “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.”
In response to whether or not Rae has a certain ideal project she’d like to pursue in the future, she stated how she is fortunate enough to make it happen for herself due to her skillset and experience. “I feel like it comes to mind, I would write it, you know? I would make it and that’s something that I’m constantly chasing in anything that I make,” she explains.
“But in terms of what I’m being cast in by others, there’s so many things, but I haven’t put my finger on it. It’s like, when you know, you’ll know. There are a few things that excite me in the way that they might excite a Brandy.”
If there’s anyone who knows the ins, outs, and hard truths of Hollywood, it’s Issa Rae. The successful TV writer and actress worked her way from making popular sketches on YouTube all the way to garnering seven Emmy nominations. She is the creator of HBO’s Insecure, and has also starred in Barbie, The Photograph, The Lovebirds, and more.
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