Black Mirror Season 6 cast: who stars in Joan is Awful with Annie Murphy and Salma Hayek-Pinault?

Charlie Brooker’s dystopian sci-fi anthology Black Mirror is returning for five new episodes this June. Season 6 is set to feature actors from the likes of Schitt’s Creek, Russian Doll, Shadow and Bone, and Catastrophe, bringing together stars from beloved sitcoms, soap juggernauts, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe to lead a new Black Mirror story.

Joan is Awful, the first episode of Black Mirror’s sixth season, follows a young woman who makes a strange discovery – when she gets home and turns on the television one evening, Salma Hayek-Pinault is starring in a television series about her life.

Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of Black Mirror’s Season 6 episode Joan is Awful, from where you recognise them from already to what you should watch them in next.

Annie Murphy as Joan

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Annie Murphy plays Joan, a young woman who turns on the television one day and finds Salma Hayek-Pinault playing… her, in a prestige drama about her life, recounting the day as it just happened to her moments ago.

Where do I know them from? Annie Murphy is best known for playing Alexis Rose in Schitts Creek, but you’ll also recognise her from appearing in the improv comedy series Murderville, or starring in the second series of Russian Doll. She also created and starred in the webseries The Plateaus.

What should I watch them in next? For another high-concept series with a metatextual approach to television, you might want to try Kevin Can F*** Himself. It’s a comedy crossed with a prestige crime drama blend that asks what happens when the laugh track fades and the sitcom wife walks offstage – it’s a show that asks a lot of Murphy, playing one character across two genres, and she more than rises to the occasion. 

Salma Hayek-Pinault as Salma Hayek-Pinault (as TV Joan)

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Salma Hayek-Pinault plays herself, starring in the television series Joan is Awful as Joan. 

Where do I know them from? You’ll recognise Hayek-Pinault from starring roles in films like Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and Eternals, as well as from television appearances in 30 Rock and Ugly Betty. She’s perhaps best known for starring in and producing the Frida Kahlo biopic Frida, for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

What should I watch them in next? You might want to check out the experimental film Timecode (an early-career role for Hayek), a largely improved piece following a group of actors rehearsing for their next movie from four perspectives at once. Alternately, the 2021 film Bliss – which stars Hayek and Owen Wilson in a Matrix-esque story questioning reality – might complement Joan is Awful well. 

Michael Cera as Beppe

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Cera plays Beppe, a mysterious character about which we still know relatively little. In the trailer, though, it’s him that reveals to Joan that a television show about her life has begun.

Where do I know them from? You’ll recognise Cera from all sorts of different film and television projects over the years, from Superbad to Scott Pilgrim to Molly’s Game, but he’s probably best known still as Arrested Development’s George Michael. He can next be seen playing Ken’s friend Allan in the Barbie movie.

What should I watch them in next? You might want to try and track down the science fiction anthology Weird City, which was created by Charlie Sanders and Jordan Peele. Cera stars alongside Rosario Dawson in the second episode, playing a character struggling with addiction in an economically segregated future city.

Rob Delaney as Mac

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Rob Delaney plays Mac, Joan’s ex-boyfriend who’s trying to find a way back into her life.

Where do I know them from? Delaney is best known for starring in Catastrophe, which he created and wrote alongside co-star Sharon Horgan, but you might also recognise him from films like Deadpool 2, Home Sweet Home Alone, and Ron’s Gone Wrong. He can next be seen in the upcoming Mission Impossible film Dead Reckoning – Part One.

What should I watch them in next? For another Rob Delaney sci-fi role, you might want to check out The Man Who Fell to Earth, the recent television adaptation of/sequel to the 1976 David Bowie film. Delaney stars alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, and Bill Nighy (who takes over the role previously played by Bowie).

Ben Barnes as TV Mac

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Ben Barnes plays the television version of Mac, sharing scenes with Salma Hayek’s television version of Joan in Joan is Awful.

Where do I know them from? You’ll recognise Barnes from a few recent Netflix series – he appeared in both Shadow and Bone and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities – as well as from films like Stardust and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

What should I watch them in next? The obvious suggestion is Westworld, a labyrinthine science fiction drama that starred Barnes in a supporting role in the first series. You might, however, also want to check out the BBC One drama Gold Digger, which sees Barnes as a mysterious interloper in a relationship with a widow, and might pair well with Joan is Awful’s relationship drama.

Who else stars in Joan is Awful?

Joan is Awful also stars Avi Nash (The Walking Dead, Barry) as Joan’s fiancé, Krish, and Himesh Patel (Yesterday, Tenet) as his television counterpart. If you’re looking to watch Nash in another series, you might want to check out the currently airing Apple TV+ sci-fi drama Silo; for Patel, meanwhile, it’s worth looking into the critically acclaimed pandemic drama Station Eleven, or perhaps the comedy series Ten Percent, where he plays an exaggerated version of himself.

They're also joined by Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) as Joan's employee Sandy, Leila Farzad (Better) as Streamberry CEO Mona Javadi, and Lolly Adefope (Ghosts) and Wunmi Mosaku (Luther) as the real and televised versions of Joan's lawyer.

Who writes and directs Joan is Awful?

Joan is Awful was written by Charlie Brooker, the Black Mirror creator who writes most episodes of the series. Away from Black Mirror, Brooker has written and created comedy series like Philomena Cunk and Death to 2020, as well as working on shows like Brass Eye and Nathan Barley. Prior to his screenwriting career, Brooker was a Guardian columnist.

Ally Pankiw directed Joan is Awful, making her Black Mirror debut. Previously, Pankiw has directed comedies like Feel Good, The Great, and Shrill, as well as writing a number of episodes of Schitt’s Creek across its second season. 

Black Mirror Season 6 arrives on Netflix on Thursday 15 June at 8am BST. You can read more of our Black Mirror coverage here, and find our review of Joan is Awful here.

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