The episode is based on an idea by series creator Charlie Brooker for a movie; he and executive producer Annabel Jones pitched the idea to several movie companies in the United States after the first series of Black Mirror, but it was not commissioned.[2] The original idea was of a comedy similar to Brewster's Millions, focused on a high status person trying to reduce their ranking in 24 hours.[2][2] Later, Brooker wrote either a three[3] or four[4] page outline for the episode, wanting it to be "comedic, darkly".[13] This version took inspiration from 1987 film Planes, Trains and Automobiles, in which the character is on a journey—for "Nosedive", this was initially a character travelling to an important work presentation.[2]