The episode tells the story of a teenage boy, Kenny (Alex Lawther), who is blackmailed into committing bizarre and criminal acts by anonymous hackers in possession of a video of him masturbating.

Kenny (Alex Lawther) returns home from his restaurant job to find that his sister Lindsey (Maya Gerber) has unintentionally infected his laptop with malware.

He downloads an anti-malware trojan, allowing unseen hackers to record him masturbating through his webcam; they email the teenager, threatening to leak the footage if he refuses to comply.

Feigning illness to leave, he frantically cycles there and is met by another blackmail victim (Ivanno Jeremiah), who passes Kenny a box containing a cake.

He meets another victim (Paul Bazely), who explains they are to fight to the death whilst being filmed through a drone; the winner earns the money.

published an interview in which Brooker hinted that the episode is "a grimy, contemporary nightmare" set in London, with no science fiction elements.

Bridges pitched three ideas to Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones and although none of them were developed further, he was sent a draft script of "Shut Up and Dance" to work on.

"[12] Having recently written series three episode "San Junipero," which was conceived of as a 1980s period piece, Brooker was interested in writing a present-day story.

"[11] The story went through many different iterations, starting from an idea similar to 1992 heist film Reservoir Dogs, where a group of strangers were tossed together to commit a robbery.

[11] The episode was originally set in the United States, as this would make it easier for the characters to access a gun, and the timeframe of the storyline was initially longer.

[11] Having seen art department preparations for series three episodes "Nosedive" and "San Junipero," Watkins aimed to deviate from their tones to "embrace being the ugly cousin.

[16] Pat Stacey of the Irish Independent noted that it is the only episode of the series set entirely in England,[16] whilst Alex Mullane of Digital Spy compared it to a "British version" of 1995 action film Die Hard with a Vengeance, as the main character "is led on a not-so-merry chase around the city.

"[18] Stuart Joy, writer of the book Through the Black Mirror: Deconstructing the Side Effects of the Digital Age, analysed that the portrayal of Kenny as youthful deceives the viewer and challenges societal perceptions of paedophiles.

"[21] Mullane opined that the episode is "a cautionary tale about placing yourself in precarious positions online, particularly when it comes to sexting, images, and pornography.

"[17] Fitz-Gerald summarised that the episode was a "hypothetical extreme" of hacking and trolling, and asked whether human nature and advanced technology are compatible.

[2] However, Caroline Framke of Vox believed that although the episode "might ostensibly be about the dangers of hacking, or trying to live a double life in a world that makes secrets all too easy to access," it relies on the feeling of shame.

"[1] Josh Dzieza of The Verge commented that the anonymous hackers mark "a bit of a departure" for the programme, which usually does not feature "overt villains.

[18] Gilbert commented that in light of this, "the gauntlet Kenny, Hector, and others are forced to run throughout the episode seems to be a kind of punishment for their sins, but at the end, none of them are forgiven.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Terrifically tense and twisty, "Shut Up and Dance" is well-paced and incredibly unsettling, leaving viewers stunned and with a greater distaste for humanity than normally evoked from an average episode Black Mirror.

Described by Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter as "one of the best things of 2016,"[23] Handlen concurred that Lawther is "the real stand-out" of the episode,[21] while Mullane wrote that he is "superb in the main role.

Whilst Matt Fowler of IGN wrote that it was "remarkably heart-pounding"[24] and Stacey found it "fantastically tense,"[16] Gilbert commented that it "felt like too much of an endurance test"[20] and Framke believed that there was not much suspense prior to the twist ending.

[1] Fitz-Gerald experienced a "mounting sense of anxiety" as "Kenny's hopelessness as a puppet to anonymous sociopaths is palpable,"[2] but Adam Chitwood of Collider found the tension too frustrating,[25] and Handlen wrote that the episode is "never boring, but it's not all that engaging, either.

"[22] Stacey said that the episode was "blackly funny,"[16] with Gilbert concurring that the scenes involving Hector's wife's friend Karen contained some of the darkest humour of the show.

"[22] However, Mullane opined that the episode's ending "perfectly captures the bleak mood of the piece and the inescapable claustrophobia of these people's situations.

[34] Additionally, Proma Khosla of Mashable ranked the 22 Black Mirror instalments excluding Bandersnatch by tone, concluding that "Shut Up and Dance" was the second most bleak after "The Waldo Moment.