The streaming service is developing specials that will let viewers choose the next storyline in a TV episode or movie. This move is a stronger push for interactive TV and Netflix expects to release the first of these projects before the end of this year.
Netflix plans to roll out a choose-your-own-adventure option in one episode of the upcoming season of “Black Mirror,” a show is famous for exploring the social implications of technology. The fifth season of the show will be released in December.
Netflix has already released the animated program “Puss in Book” where viewers could choose whether Puss fights a god or a tree. After watching one storyline, viewers could go back and watch the other.
As Netflix expands around the world and looks for new ways to lure customers, it was natural for the streaming service to try a hand at interactive TV. The foray into the choose-your-own-adventure programming represents a big bet on the budding form of entertainment as it blends elements of video games with traditional television.
The streaming service has already disrupted the business model of television by delivering new episodes of a season all at once, allowing viewers to watch shows on-demand rather than live. However, the company has done little to change the way shows are conceived or produced. The streaming service still releases the usual 25-minute sitcoms, two-hour movies and so forth.
By: Maytinee Kramer
