| "San Junipero" | |
|---|---|
| Black Mirror episode | |
 Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis, left) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, right) | |
| Episode no. | Series 3 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Owen Harris |
| Written by | Charlie Brooker |
| Featured music | |
| Cinematography by | Gustav Danielsson |
| Editing by | Nicolas Chaudeurge |
| Original release date | 21 October 2016 |
| Running time | 61 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"San Junipero" is the fourth episode in the third series of the British science fiction anthology television series Black Mirror. Written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris, it premiered on Netflix on 21 October 2016, with the rest of series three.
The episode is set in a beach resort town named San Junipero, where the introverted Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) meets the more outgoing Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). The town is part of a simulated reality the elderly can inhabit, even after death. "San Junipero" was the first episode written for series three of Black Mirror; initial drafts were based on nostalgia therapy and designed as a 1980s period piece. The first script was about a heterosexual couple and had an unhappy ending, and the final version was about a lesbian couple and had a happy ending, atypical of other Black Mirror episodes. Filming took place in London and Cape Town across several weeks. The soundtrack interweaves 1980s songs with an original score by Clint Mansell.
The episode received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Mbatha-Raw's and Davis's performances, its plot twist, its visual style, and its uplifting tone, which is atypical for the series. It had higher critical ratings than the show's other episodes, while some critics considered it one of the best television episodes of 2016. In addition to several other accolades, "San Junipero" won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.