Netflix adds ‘mind-bending’ new sci-fi show earning Black Mirror comparisons

Stephen Porzio

The anthology series consists of seven ‘mind-bending stories’ of ‘supernatural sci-fi phenomena’.

Black Mirror was recently announced to be returning for its seventh season in 2025 but if you can’t wait that long, Netflix has just released a new sci-fi anthology show.

Titled Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams, the series comprises of seven episodes and, like Black Mirror, each instalment presents a different story and a new set of actors.

As perhaps could be gathered by the show’s title, the project comes from Joko Anwar – the acclaimed Indonesian writer-director behind the acclaimed horror-thrillers Impetigore, Satan’s Slaves and Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion (all three of which are streaming on Shudder now).

The plot synopsis for the show from Netflix reads: “Venturing beyond the conventional narratives of aliens descending upon Earth, Anwar explores an intriguing premise: What if these extraterrestrial beings were already here among us or even within us?

“Presented through seven distinct, yet interconnected stories across its episodes, each instalment unravels a unique mystery, with each thread leading audiences a step closer to the final showdown.”

Anwar and Netflix have also said that the series blends “the extraordinary with the ordinary, grounding fantastical elements in real-world issues”.

Nightmares and Daydreams was only released on Netflix today (Friday, 14 June) so reviews are still pouring in.

But based on the early critical reviews, it has been very positively received, with several comparing it to both Black Mirror and Guillermo del Toro’s own Netflix anthology show Cabinet of Curiosities.

You can read a sample of some of these glowing write-ups for Nightmares and Daydreams below:

DMT: “All the stories are incredibly relevant, and… they’ve been visualised so ambitiously.”

The Feast of Legends: “Each and every frame of every episode in this series feels magical.”

South China Morning Post: ‘Even in the show’s most socially conscious, politically minded moments, it never loses sight of its genre roots, and remains fully committed to delivering a thrilling exercise in mainstream entertainment.”

The entirety of Nightmares and Daydreams is streaming on Netflix right now.