Charlie Brooker responds to criticism of Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker has responded to the criticism that Black Mirror has become too palatable.

While speaking at the inaugural SXSW Sydney event in Australia, the Black Mirror creator addressed the backlash he's faced from fans since moving the series from its original home on Britain's Channel 4 to Netflix.

"One of the criticisms we sometimes get is, 'I prefer the show when it was British and everyone in it was miserable and everything smelled a little bit of s**t and all the stories were horrible,'" Brooker told the audience, via The Guardian. "And then it's gone to Netflix and suddenly everything's sunny and happy and everyone has wonderful teeth, and it's full of Hollywood stars and it's lost that edge."

Black Mirror aired on Channel 4 for two seasons and a Christmas special, then moved to Netflix for four more seasons and an interactive film titled Bandersnatch.

"Arguably the happiest (episode) I've ever written was San Junipero and I just did that off my own back," he said. "I was aware we're going on a global platform now, so we've got to make these stories a bit more international. And I wanted to mix it up a bit, as in not just keep doing bleak-a-thons."

San Junipero, starring Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, appeared in Black Mirror's third season overall and its first on Netflix.