What’s wrong with just passing out in front of Peep Show? Why does everything have to be interactive?
Netflix is “doubling down” on interactive content, following the success of last year’s Black Mirror special, Bandersnatch.
Bandersnatch was a unique, innovative experience – it played out like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, letting you pick what decisions the characters made, and branching the story off in different directions.
It was generally met with critical acclaim – Netflix are notoriously secretive about their audience figures, but judging by the social media reaction, a lot of people have watched it since it debuted in December.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Netflix are planning to make a lot more similar content.
“It’s a huge hit around the world, and we realized, wow, interactive storytelling is something we want to bet more on,” said Netflix’s VP of product, Todd Yellin, during a keynote speech media and entertainment conference FICCI-Frames in Mumbai, India.
“We’re doubling down on that. So expect over the next year or two to see more interactive storytelling. And it won’t necessarily be science fiction, or it won’t necessarily be dark. It could be a wacky comedy. It could be a romance, where the audience gets to choose – should she go out with him or him.”
It is exciting to see Netflix continue to experiment with the technology – streaming is changing television, and there are so many potential things they could do with the medium.
What’s next? A Bojack Horseman where you get to pick what bad life decision he makes?
Read our feature on the making of Bandersnatch here.
