Netflix will let viewers choose endings for shows, starting with Black Mirror

Netflix will let viewers choose endings for shows, starting with Black Mirror

Theres a Interactive Black Mirror* episode is in the works (Picture: Neflix) TV viewers who have ev..

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Interactive Black Mirror* episode is in the works

Theres a Interactive Black Mirror* episode is in the works (Picture: Neflix)

TV viewers who have ever been left underwhelmed, angry or frustrated by their favourite shows season finale are being given the power to decide the fate of their beloved characters.

Streaming giant Netflix is developing a slate of specials that will let audiences choose the next storyline in a TV episode or movie, Bloomberg reports.

According to sources, the company will trial out the choose-your-own-ending scheme with an interactive episode of Charlie Brookers critically acclaimed show Black Mirror when the fifth season hits screens in December.

The show is already known for its mind-blowing twists, so it would be the ideal guinea pig for the experiment as Netflix ramps up its efforts to fend of competition from other streaming services like Amazon and Hulu.

Netflix first tested out the technology with an episode of Puss in Book: Trapped in 2017. The Shrek spin-off featured interaction points followed by a few other projects for kids.

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It worked in the similar way of videogames, and Netflix has videogame-based shows in the works, including a take on Minecraft due by the end of 2018.

Last year, HBO dipped a toe into interactive waters with the release of its six-episode project, Mosaic. It was on a special app with two-and-a-half hours of additional footage as compared to its TV version.

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Besides giving control to the fans, multi-path content can certainly make shows like Game of Thrones more interesting. But they require a lot more production work and also present budget and labor challenges for producers.

It was reported that GOT producers had gone to great lengths to avoid leaks of the final season, which airs in 2019, by filming different endings.

HBO boss Casey Bloys said: I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, theyre going to shoot multiple versions so that nobody really know what happens. You have to do that on a long show. Because when youre shooting something, people know. So theyre going to shoot multiple versions so that theres no real definitive answer until the end.

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