Netflix’s ‘Reality Z’ Has a Sneaky ‘Black Mirror’ Connection

If you’ve been scrolling through Netflix lately you may have noticed the streaming giant’s new zombie show, Reality Z. From its show page image to its opening scene it’s obvious that this new Brazilian series is something horror fans will enjoy. But what’s less obvious is that Reality Z has a sneaky connection to one of the most beloved and thrilling horror series on television, Black Mirror.

Created by Cláudio Torres, Reality Z follows the contestants of a fictional reality show called Olympus. Contestants are forced to live together in a house completely removed from society. Each week at least one of these contestants is voted off by their housemates. But while they’re in the middle of this new drama-filled season, a zombie apocalypse breaks out, trapping the contestants in their Olympus house with the remaining producers who secretly resent them. The series follows who lives and who dies as this show’s screaming mass of fans literally transforms into a swarm of cannibalistic monsters.

If this all sounds familiar it’s because an English-language version of Reality Z already exists. In 2008 the British channel E4 premiered Dead Set, a five-episode miniseries that revolved around the contestants of Big Brother surviving a zombie apocalypse. And that horror comedy was created by none other than Charlie Brooker, the devious mastermind behind Black Mirror. He would later go on to create the first episode of his critically acclaimed sci-fi anthology series three years after Dead Set aired.

Each episode of Reality Z includes the disclaimer that the series is an adaptation of Brooker’s Dead Set, so it’s not like anyone is getting away with anything questionable. But that doesn’t mean Reality Z is a perfect, beat-for-beat remake of its English predecessor. Though both series share a refreshing half-hour-an-episode runtime, Reality Z trades in Dead Set‘s often comedic tone for a few additional main characters and a bonus political plot line. If you’re in the mood for a rewrite on some classic creepiness, Reality Z is absolutely the way to go.

Watch Reality Z on Netflix