With the success of Netflix's Giancarlo Esposito-led heist thriller series, Kaleidoscope, and its unique audience participation experience that allows you to choose the order in which you watch the episodes, With critic and audience response being lukewarm, it got us thinking of some other shows in the past that have encouraged the participation of the viewer as a part of the experience.
There are a handful of shows that allow for the viewer to get involved in the show and make decisions that have a direct impact on the fates of the main characters and the conclusion of the story, but as of now, none have really been able to gain much traction in the way of becoming a trend in the television vertical. You can find all four of these previous options on either Netflix or HBO Max.
'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' (Netflix)
Back in December 2018, the creators of the popular British anthology series Black Mirror came up with what was, at the time, a revolutionary way to experience an episode of their show entitled, "Bandersnatch." The experience involved keeping your remote handy as you could make decisions for the main character, a video game programmer named Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead) as he goes through his daily life in the year 1984. You can make decisions as mundane as which cereal he has for breakfast, or the song he listens to on his way to work to the much more serious choices like whether he wants to discuss the painful memory of his dead mother with his psychiatrist, or take his prescribed medications.
Each decision you make takes you down a separate, mutually exclusive pathway that tells the story a little bit differently. There are more than two dozen points within the 90-minute show that two options will appear at the bottom of your screen, and you can use your remote to control what Stefan does in a given situation. It's a fun and different way to experience the show and forces you to pay attention as you're never sure exactly when you'll be called upon to decide for Stefan. It really makes you feel like you're directing the episode as Stefan's character begins to feel as if he isn't in control of his own choices and destiny, which is something we had never seen in the television vertical before.
'Mosaic' (HBO)
The godfathers of original programming at HBO dabbled with an audience interactive show in 2018 when the network aired the innovative show, Mosaic. The show was helmed by none other than Steven Soderbergh and stars Sharon Stone as a successful children's book author, Olivia Lake, and a cast of characters surrounding a murder mystery. The whodunit formatted show is a little bit different from Bandersnatch in that you can experience the story from the point of view of the handful of characters. The show begins in a flashback where the character Eric Neil (Frederick Weller) is attempting to con Olivia out of her fortune. Ultimately, Olivia is murdered, and you can choose which character you want to experience the crime from. For example, you can be the detective Nate Henry (Devin Ratray) who is tasked with solving the case. Or you may choose Paul Reubens, who plays JC Schiffer, Olivia's best friend and the keeper of all of her deepest and darkest secrets. It is a unique experience in and of itself as each iteration takes a different perspective with slightly altered angles of viewing the same crime.
Bear Grylls' 'You Vs. Wild' (Netflix)
Noted survivalist and television star Bear Grylls is tasked with finding a renowned doctor in a perilous jungle filled with dangerous animals so he can take her and some life-saving medicines to a group of sick children in a remote village in "Operation Jungle Rescue." You get to decide which tools Bear will use on his mission as he leaps from a small seaplane into the crocodile infested waters of South America. Every decision you make will determine whether Bear makes it to the doctor and sick children in time. You even get to choose which path he takes on his adventure by either following the river or bushwhacking his way through the dense jungle. There is danger at every turn regardless of what you choose, with hungry predators and inhospitable elements either way. If you do encounter a dangerous creature along the way, you get to decide how you will manage to make it past the threat. If Bear is running low on energy, you get to decide if and when he eats to gain more energy along the way. It is a riveting experience that really makes you feel like you're on this adventure with Grylls. It requires less attention than Bandersnatch or Mosaic, but is just as interactive, and showcases some amazingly beautiful subtropical scenery along the way.
'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt': Kimmy vs. the Reverend (Netflix)
Ellie Kemperer stars as the titular character, and she is getting married on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. But first, she has to foil an evil plot that the reverend has hatched in "Kimmy vs. the Reverend." In a format very similar to Bandersnatch, you are given choices throughout the episode. It's a light-hearted, quirky tone consistent with the comedic theme of the show, you get to choose what style of dress Kimmy will wear, and make decisions for the rest of cast, including Titus Andromeder (Titus Burgess) and whether he goes to the gym or takes a nap, or whether Kimmy makes out with fiancée, Daniel Radcliffe (who guest-starred as Frederick just for the special interactive episode) or reads a book.
At different points throughout the show, a character from the cast will break the fourth wall and comment to you on whether you're making good or bad choices. Jane Krakowski, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, and Carol Kane all co-star in the show as you join them on her adventure to foil the reverend's plot and marry Harry Potter wait, sorry, Daniel Radcliffe. And here's a pro-tip: when you get to the scene where Kimmy and Titus walk into a dive bar, make sure to choose the option where Titus sings "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd in front of the entire group of backwoods customers. You won't regret it.
What's on Tap for Interactive TV?
Netflix has been toying with the idea of creating more interactive audience participation for some time now, but the process has been slow. They have established an entity called Interactive Experiences on Netflix that is in various stages of creating more content like Kaleidoscope, Bandersnatch, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but admit that such an undertaking is expensive and difficult to shoot. So, while ideas are still brewing for an audience driven show, the network has been doubling down with skilled interactive experiences like Triviaverse and Puss and Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale and shows based off of popular self-help apps like Headspace: Unwind Your Mind.