Whilst series one and two of
Black Mirror were shown on
Channel 4 in the UK, in September 2015 Netflix commissioned the series for 12 episodes, and in March 2016 it outbid Channel 4 for the rights to distribute the series in the UK, with a bid of $40 million. The 12-episode order was divided into two series of six episodes each, with "Hang the DJ" in the latter group. The six episodes in series four were released on Netflix simultaneously on 29 December 2017. "Hang the DJ" is listed as the fourth episode, but as
Black Mirror is an
anthology series, each instalment can be watched in any order.
Conception and writing According to the executive producer
Annabel Jones, "Hang the DJ" reflects on the state of dating in the present day and a "general sense of loneliness". The episode originated from series creator and episode writer
Charlie Brooker, who conceived of the Coach dating application by analogy with the audio streaming platform
Spotify: it determines a "playlist" of relationships that one should have before settling down with a partner. It was not obvious what storyline could be developed when the dating application users' experience was predetermined. Variations were considered and one idea floated was that the app could learn from each relationship. Amy and Frank being driven apart before reuniting was a desired narrative arc, and became possible when the twist was introduced. The script was rushed because of its deadline at a busy point in the production cycle. Frank observing the relationship time caused a structural issue in the script, but the scene was seen as important and so the script was reworked around this idea. was used as a filming location. Some exterior filming took place at
Painshill, an eighteenth-century landscape park in
Surrey. In one scene, Amy kicks Frank jokingly. However, Campbell's fake kicks looked unrealistic. Van Patten told Campbell to kick Cole for real and she accidentally kicked him hard enough for him to bleed—this was the shot that was used in the episode. The plot twist is revealed in a scene where the simulated world disassembles pixel by pixel to be replaced by 1,000 copies of Frank and Amy in a black void. This was only described vaguely in the script, so the production took inspiration from 2013 science fiction film
Under the Skin, according to producer Nick Pitt. The cast were confused about the intention during filming for this ending, particularly the footage taken against green screens of characters looking "meaningfully into the middle distance". Jones and Brooker found that their partners did not understand the initial cuts of the ending. To establish that the episode's setting had been a simulation, disembodied voice and text reveal that Amy and Frank had "rebelled" 998 out of 1,000 times, leading to a 99.8% match for the pair, and dialogue in the previous restaurant scene was simplified. Additionally, visual effects developments led to characters "dematerialising" by a "graceful leaving of their body" rather than "being broken, squashed or incinerated", according to Pitt. The instrumental soundtrack for "Hang the DJ" was created by
Alex Somers, with two pieces contributed by the Icelandic band
Sigur Rós, "End" and "Match". The two songs are both
ambient music: "End" is a five-minute structured piece featuring vocals by Jónsi, which
Rolling Stones Ryan Reed described as
post-rock; "Match" is a 90-second segue with a dark tone and use of
drones. Somers had previously produced music with the band, including on their most recent album
Kveikur (2013). In 2018, the soundtrack was released on
vinyl by
Invada Records. ==Marketing==