Casting features a mix of actors in new roles across episodes such as USS Callister (a Star Trek parody with a simulated crew), Arkangel (mother-daughter monitoring tech), Crocodile (architect Mia and investigator Shazia), Hang the DJ (dating app pair Frank and Amy), Metalhead (scavengers vs. robots), and Black Museum (museum visitor and artifacts), but this diversity remains incidental and story-justified rather than foregrounded as a statement. Creator Charlie Brooker has described the season as including more variety and hope than prior entries while writing during the 2016 election period, yet the narratives stay rooted in classic techno-paranoia satire without explicit social justice framing or lecture moments. Audience and critical reception showed no notable backlash labeling the season 'woke,' with focus instead on episode quality and twists.