Black Mirror has always blurred the line between sci-fi nightmares and unsettling reality, and this season delivers all that once more. With a cast led by Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Issa Rae, and many more, the latest installment of the twisted anthology series isn’t just reflecting our relationship with technology — it’s poking at it, dissecting it, and asking whether we’ll even recognize ourselves once the algorithms are done with us.

For Awkwafina, this isn’t just another role — it’s a confrontation with the very forces that built her career.

“Technology gives and takes away,” I commented, and she nodded enthusiastically on a recent morning at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, where we sat down to talk about the show and her journey so far.

“It does. My career started on YouTube. That was new back then… kind of weird and a little scary,” she reflects. “I think that it’s important to integrate it into your life to an extent, but to also be aware of its implications.”

This season pushes deeper into the tension between identity and invention. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithmic influence, the show stays laser-focused on the human core of its stories — something Awkwafina sees as crucial.

“If you get something that maybe is algorithmically charged, I think you have the choice to participate in it or not,” she says. “But there are people that are doing really human stuff, and so you just gotta pick them.”

And for her, picking roles that challenge her is part of the process — from the unfiltered YouTube persona that launched her, to the Golden Globe-winning heartache of The Farewell.

“You want to occupy all the spaces that challenge you,” she says. “The Farewell was like a very different kind of thing for me. I like being able to feel good in comedy… but I think that if the story calls for you to really resonate with it, you resonate with it. This was one of them, for sure.”

Black Mirror is known for examining the darkest parts of ourselves. The series continues its tradition of exposing the hidden costs of innovation — something Awkwafina says is deeply needed right now.

Offscreen, Awkwafina remains grounded by her community, especially the trailblazing Asian American women who inspired her. “Margaret Cho was an idol. And I did Quiz Lady with Sandra Oh. We would get into really deep, philosophical conversations about everything, and she really taught me so much.”

When I asked how some moments in her rise through Hollywood changed her perspective or stayed with her, Awkwafina leaned into lived wisdom.

“So many life lessons, like the transient nature of everything — the transient nature of fear, of anxiety over the unknown,” she says. “You have to stay grounded, because if not, something’s gonna ground you or pull you back down. I don’t believe in the transient highs or the transient lows anymore. I think I’m just trying to look at everything with perspective.”

Perspective, after all, may be the one thing technology can’t automate.

Season 7 of Black Mirror is now streaming on Netflix.