Shut Up and Dance (Black Mirror)

"Shut Up and Dance"
Black Mirror episode
Critics received Lawther's acting as Kenny (pictured) positively, with Caroline Framke finding Kenny to be "quivering, desperate, heartbreaking".[1] The episode is a dark thriller.[2]
Episode no.	Series 3 Episode 3
Directed by	James Watkins
Written by	Charlie Brooker William Bridges
Featured music	"Exit Music (For a Film)" by Radiohead
Original release date	21 October 2016 (2016-10-21)
Running time	52 minutes
Guest appearances
Alex Lawther as Kenny Jerome Flynn as Hector Susannah Doyle as Georgina Tarrington[a] Hannah Steele as Melissa Sarah Beck Mather as Restaurant Mother Beatrice Robertson-Jones as Restaurant Daughter Maya Gerber as Lindsay Camilla Power as Sandra Ivanno Jeremiah as Blackmailed Man Natasha Little as Karen Nicola Sloane as Bank Clerk Paul Bazely as Man in the Woods Leanne Best as Penny
Episode chronology
← Previous "Playtest" Next → "San Junipero"
List of episodes

"Shut Up and Dance" is the third episode of the third series of the British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and William Bridges, and premiered on Netflix on 21 October 2016, together with the rest of series three.

The episode tells the story of a teenage boy, Kenny (Alex Lawther), who is blackmailed into committing bizarre and criminal acts by anonymous hackers in possession of a video of him masturbating. The teen is joined by a middle-aged man (Jerome Flynn), who is also being blackmailed over infidelity. The episode is dark in tone and has themes related to a previous episode, "White Bear".

"Shut Up and Dance" received mixed reviews. Critics praised Lawther and Flynn's acting, but were polarised as to whether the episode's tone was effective, whether the plot twist was good and whether the episode had interesting themes. It was ranked poorly in critics' lists of Black Mirror instalments by quality.

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