Death to 2021

Credits adapted from Radio Times.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/death-to-2021-cast-netflix/|title=Meet the cast of Netflix comedy special Death to 2021|work=Radio Times|last=Cremona|first=Patrick|date=December 29, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}}

• Hugh Grant as Tennyson Foss, a right-wing historian
• Joe Keery as Duke Goolies, a social media influencer
• William Jackson Harper as Zero Fournine, a social media company CEO
• Lucy Liu as Snook Austin, a journalist
• Tracey Ullman as Madison Madison, a far-right conspiracy theorist news anchor
• Samson Kayo as Pyrex Flask, a scientist researching SARS-CoV-2
• Stockard Channing as Penn Parker, a journalist
• Cristin Milioti as Kathy Flowers, a mother who supports Donald Trump and believes conspiracy theories
• Diane Morgan as Gemma Nerrick, a member of the public

Death to 2021 is a sequel to Death to 2020, both productions of Broke and Bones—a company founded by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, best-known for their work on science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It followed several years of Weekly Wipe specials, hosted by Brooker, that humorously recapped news events from the year.{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflixs-death-to-2020-skewers-trainwreck-year-in-mockumentary-trailer | title = Netflix's 'Death to 2020' Skewers "Trainwreck" Year in Mockumentary Trailer | date = 21 December 2020 | access-date = 21 December 2020 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | archive-date = 27 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201227171836/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflixs-death-to-2020-skewers-trainwreck-year-in-mockumentary-trailer | url-status = live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/dec/26/netflix-death-to-2020-charlie-brooker|title=Charlie Brooker: 'There's a certain release in laughing into the abyss'|work=The Guardian|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian|date=27 December 2020|access-date=27 December 2020}}{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-annabel-jones-netflix-endemol-shine-group-1203478778/ | title = 'Black Mirror' Creators Quit Endemol Shine-Owned Label While Navigating IP Headaches With Netflix | first = Manori | last = Ravindran | date = 24 January 2020 | access-date = 25 January 2020 | work = Variety | archive-date = 24 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200124234923/https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-annabel-jones-netflix-endemol-shine-group-1203478778/ | url-status = live }}{{cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2020/02/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-annabel-jones-launch-broke-and-bones-1202853906/ | title = 'Black Mirror' Creators Charlie Brooker & Annabel Jones Waste Little Time In Launching New Production Outfit | first = Jake | last = Kanter | date = 10 February 2020 | access-date = 10 February 2020 | work = Deadline Hollywood | archive-date = 10 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200210183050/https://deadline.com/2020/02/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-annabel-jones-launch-broke-and-bones-1202853906/ | url-status = live }} Death to 2020 received negative critical reception.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/death-to-2021-hugh-grant-b1982947.html|title=Death to 2021: Hugh Grant's Tennyson Foss complains about pronouns in new Netflix show|work=The Independent|last=O'Connor|first=Roisin|date=December 28, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}}

For the 2021 special, Brooker had a reduced role—a Netflix spokesperson told British Comedy Guide that he was working on other productions for the streaming service.{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a38420660/netflix-death-to-2021-nick-mohammed/|title=Ted Lasso and The Good Place stars cast in Death to 2021 Netflix sequel|work=Digital Spy|last=Warner|first=Sam|date=3 December 2021|accessdate=5 December 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/6635/death-to-2021/|title=Netflix orders Death To 2021, with Nick Mohammed and Alistair Green|publisher=British Comedy Guide|last=Richardson|first=Jay|date=2 December 2021|accessdate=5 December 2021}} A number of cast from 2020 returned, but others—for example, Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing and William Jackson Harper—debuted in 2021.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/netflix-death-to-2021-premiere-date-teaser-1235124417/|title=Netflix Announces 'Death to 2021,' Releases Teaser (TV News Roundup)|work=Variety|last=Song|first=Katie|last2=Hailu|first2=Selome|date=2 December 2021|accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/12/netflix-returns-death-2021-1234883477/|title=Netflix Returns To 'Death To 2021'; Adds Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing, William Jackson Harper To Comedy Special|work=Deadline Hollywood|last=Goldbart|first=Max|date=2 December 2021|accessdate=5 December 2021}} Ullman plays a different character to the 2020 special—an American news anchor, rather than the Queen.

Entertainment.ie{{'}}s Eoghan Cannon rated the film 2.5 out of 5, saying that it would be "unwatchable" without the strong cast, and is not sufficiently memorable for viewers to remember it the next morning. However, Cannon praised the coverage of light-hearted stories.{{cite web|url=https://entertainment.ie/tv/tv-reviews/death-to-2021-review-netflix-506816/|title='Death To 2021' proves that Charlie Brooker really needs to bring back 'Black Mirror'|work=Entertainment.ie|last=Cannon|first=Eoghan|date=December 28, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}} Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph gave it 1 star, lambasting it as lacking originality and nuance. He negatively portrayed the absence of Brooker, calling it a negative image of Black Mirror, but praised Morgan's joking comparison of Squid Game to The Great British Bake Off.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/death-2021-review-trump-anti-vaxx-jokes-come-back-charlie-brooker/|title=Death to 2021, review: more Trump and anti-vaxx jokes? Come back, Charlie Brooker!|work=The Daily Telegraph|last=Power|first=Ed|date=December 27, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}}

Screen Rant criticized that the special had a "refusal to talk about cultural events outside of Netflix's domain", with segments about their original productions Bridgerton and Squid Game but omitting other television and film of the year.{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/death-2021-netflix-charlie-brooker-mistake/|title=Death to 2021 Shows Netflix Limiting Charlie Brooker|work=Screen Rant|last=Gugliersi|first=Antonella|date=December 29, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}} According to The National, a joke about Glasgow being part of London was well-received by Scottish viewers.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenational.scot/politics/19815450.netflixs-death-2021-trolls-scots-ridiculous-glasgow-joke/|title=Netflix's Death to 2021 trolls Scots with ridiculous Glasgow joke|work=The National|date=December 30, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}} Bruce Dessau of Beyond the Joke wrote that Death to 2021 was targeted at an American audience, to a further extent than the previous year's special. Dessau praised Morgan, Grant and Kayo, and said that pushback to a joke about Prince Philip's death came from people "that [have] clearly not seen a Brooker programme before".{{cite web|url=https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/11490/review-death-2021-netflix|title=Review: Death To 2021, Netflix|work=Beyond the Joke|last=Dessau|first=Bruce|date=December 28, 2021|accessdate=December 30, 2021}}

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Category:2021 films

Category:Films set in 2021

Category:Netflix original films

Category:2020s mockumentary films

Category:American films about the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:2020s English-language films

Category:2020s American films

Category:American mockumentary films