Report: Netflix Testing Choose-Your-Own-Ending Content
Netflix continually pulls at the thread of movie-TV distribution, between bottomless budgets for original series and ongoing movies and comedy specials, and may yet investigate a new avenue for content. Sources report that Netflix is toying with the idea of certain productions filming multiple outcomes, so as to allow viewers to choose their own stories.
The Daily Mail delivered the most thorough report on the matter, citing sources that claim “We’re doing work on branch narratives so you are actually making choices as you watch.” The report points to shows like The Crown or Orange Is the New Black, suggesting that producers might film multiple endings to allow viewers to decide certain character choices.
Adding that the technology could be tested with an upcoming children’s series, the same source adds:
All the content will be there, and then people will have to get through it in different ways … We’ll see how it plays out. It’s an experiment. We’ll see if it gets much success. For creators, it’s new territory.
For the record, The Daily Mail also purports to have spoken to Netflix boss Reed Hastings, who stated:
Once you have got interactivity you can try anything.
It certainly seems within the realm of possibility that Netflix would explore new content forms, but might recognizable series really agree to film alternate outcomes for major stories? We’ve reached out to Netflix for comment, and will update with any clarification.