Netflix launches a new interactive film and television series that breaks traditional TV linear rules

There are more than a dozen plot decision points when the video is played. Users can use smart TVs, remote controls and mobile phones to choose their own plot branches to influence the final outcome.

When chasing American dramas, I always want to kill the screenwriter with a knife, break the plot, and have a bad ending. Good people will die, and the harm will last for thousands of years. Now, Netflix has launched a new interactive film and television series, giving viewers in front of the TV a chance to dominate the plot and ending direction of the series.

According to TheVerge, starting today, viewers can watch the new interactive series "Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale" on Netflix. The video has more than a dozen plot decision points when playing. Users can use smart TVs, remote controls and mobile devices, choose their own plot branches to influence the direction of the final ending, and even watch all the endings of the show through "countless" replays and selections.

It sounds a bit like a popular harem game on the APP. The player decides whether the protagonist of the story will eventually become a queen or elope with the prince. Currently, Netflix's interactive series is still being tested, and the category is limited to children's family series. The second pilot episode will be broadcast next month. If the trial is successful and its 99 million users like this independent selection method, Netflix will consider making this optional interactive series available to the public.

As for why they chose to start with children's dramas, Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, director of product innovation at Netflix, gave the answer that when children watch the drama, they have a strong sense of substitution, like to interact, and even talk to the protagonists on the screen. They are very keen on supervising the development of the drama and even hope that the drama will develop in the direction they expect.

In fact, this interactive way of selecting the direction of a series is nothing new in the United States, especially in the film and book fields. In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States launched a very famous children's interactive book "Choose Your Own Adventure", which sold 250 million copies. The Hollywood movie Clueto Sliding Doors to Memento has also tried to branch the plot to influence the ending.

TV, film and television dramas have never been realized, mainly due to linear planning and technical problems of traditional TV. Netflix made an early attempt to disrupt linear planning and broadcast an original TV series "Stressed Development Season 4." Now I want to take a step closer. I hope to completely break the way of storytelling and declare war on traditional TV programs so that the audience can truly become the dominant player and integrate into the plot. In addition, it also gives content creators more room to play, and they also have more room for imagination when creating dramas.

Just a few days ago, Netflix also ushered in a historic moment. The number of subscribers in the United States reached 50.85 million, surpassing cable TV for the first time. But this has not made Netflix relax, and it still maintains a stance of fighting against streaming platforms such as Mason, HBO, and Hulu, as well as traditional TV stations.

Original and high-quality content has always been the top priority of Netflix's layout. In the past twelve quarters, Netflix has not slackened its investment in content. The amount invested has nearly tripled in three years, and content spent in fiscal 2016 alone reached about US$6.8 billion.

In April this year, Netflix announced that it would raise 1 billion euros through bond issuance to continue to focus on originality and layout the content ecosystem. If the new interactive series succeeds, it could give Netflix a bigger competitive advantage. It can not only deter opponents who are also streaming media platforms, but also attack traditional TV stations.

However, whether such a large-scale attempt can succeed is still unknown. In terms of money, Netflix also announced in May that it would cut "Youth Rhythm" and "Supersense Hunting," which had good ratings, but had to be cut because of high production costs. Although Netflix did not disclose the cost of interactive dramas, from screenwriter story design to plot interpretation and editing, it is much more complex than ordinary TV dramas, and the corresponding investment will increase. It is unclear how cost-effective it is.

From the perspective of viewing willingness and values, children are willing to interact with the plot, but will adults be willing to waste this time making choices? This kind of interactive plot can play an educational role in "truth, goodness and beauty". According to the wishes of the children, we can defeat the bad guys and achieve world peace. But will there come a day when they will blame children's dramas for giving them choices but not in real life?

Editor: jessica