Netflix is diving deeper into interactive content that will let viewers decide the outcome of some of their favorite Netflix originals, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
The streaming giant plans to release the first of these shows before the end of the year and will also release an interactive episode from the upcoming season of its Emmy-winning science-fiction series “Black Mirror.” The series, which is much like a modern-day “Twilight Zone,” features satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world. The fifth season of the show is expected to be released sometime in December.
Interactive content is nothing new to Netflix. The streaming giant has a growing history with the format, which first started last year with the release of “Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale,” a choose-your-own-adventure story for children. The series allowed users to make simple decisions, such as deciding who the feline protagonist should fight or which destination he should travel to.
Netflix followed up the “Puss in Boots” series with “Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile,” which was made in partnership with American Greetings Entertainment and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the creators behind “Robot Chicken.”
The big difference between its past relationship with interactive content and this new push is that formerly its efforts were aimed at children, whereas it’s upcoming content will be focused on wrangling in adult audiences. Like every video platform on the market, Netflix is experimenting with new ways to foster engagement on its service. At the same time, it is also attempting to create an offering that isn’t found anywhere else, much like it did when it first introduced its original programming and offered users the ability binge on an entire season of a show as soon as it released.
According to Bloomberg, the upcoming interactive content will be much more complex than the choose-your-own-adventure shows released last year.
The news of the streamer’s increased efforts into interactive programming comes on the heels of a partnership with Telltale Games, a video game developer based in San Rafael, California. Under the agreement, Telltale will help develop a new animated series based on the hit video game “Minecraft.” TechRadar, who first broke the news of the partnership in June, said that — according to its sources — the series would be similar to a “simple game experience.” However, Netflix has emphasized that it is not planning to get into the video game market but instead categorizes the upcoming content as interactive narrative storytelling.
To help with its push into interactive programming, the Los Gatos, California-based streamer recently hired the former head of merchandise and product development at Walt Disney Co, Christie Fleischer. In her new role, the industry veteran will oversee retail and licensee partnerships, publishing, interactive content, merchandising and experiential events
A representative for Netflix declined TheWrap’s request for comment.
11 Rock Documentaries You Can Stream Now, From 'Don't Look Back' to 'Amy' (Photos)
The best rock documentaries, or rock docs, or rockumentaries if you prefer, provide and unvarnished look at an already iconic performer or band. They peel back the layers of their on-stage persona while also offering intimate, magnetic performances that go beyond just the over-produced concert film. It has been a staple for so long that the parody film “This is Spinal Tap” might be the genre’s finest example. The latest in this vein is this weekend’s “Bad Reputation,” about the career of guitarist Joan Jett. So if after seeing that you’re in the mood for other rock documentaries, these are among the best and are all available for streaming now.
"Don’t Look Back" - FilmStruck
D.A. Pennebaker invented the rockumentary with this fly-on-the-wall film. You know the iconic music video of Bob Dylan laconically dropping cue cards as the lyrics to his rollicking “Subterranean Homesick Blues” plays. But equally impressive was how Pennebaker, using a camera he built himself, captured Dylan at a point in his career when he would never be so candid in front of a camera again. He’s rude to the press, to backstage fans and to party guests like the singer Donovan, and he hardly looks like a voice of a generation in the making. But it’s that unflattering look that makes “Don’t Look Back” all the more fascinating.
Janus Films
"Monterey Pop" - FilmStruck
After “Don’t Look Back,” D.A. Pennebaker was given a much larger crew to chronicle the Monterey Pop music festival, featuring a stellar lineup including Janis Joplin, The Who, Otis Redding, and most famously, capturing Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire. Along with “Woodstock,” “Monterey Pop” set the bar for concert films and was a striking snap shot of ‘60s counterculture before rock music was considered a true art form. Famously, according to NPR, ABC never aired “Monterey Pop” despite bankrolling Pennebaker’s project after witnessing Hendrix “fornicating” with his amp.
Janus Films
"Gimme Shelter" - FilmStruck
There are plenty of Rolling Stones rock docs worth exploring, but the first and finest is the Maysles Brothers “Gimme Shelter,” another fly-on-the-wall document of the band in their prime as they try to stage a massive free concert in California that attracted 300,000 fans. Modern Stones fans will be shocked how raw and ragged they sound on stage. In one powerful scene, the Maysles confront the band with violent footage from the crowd that leaves Mick Jagger stunned at the consequences of their stunts.
Cinema 5
"Stop Making Sense" - Amazon Prime Video
While this is strictly a concert film, Jonathan Demme certainly tells a story along with David Byrne and the Talking Heads. The band’s legendary show involves Byrne performing solo with a guitar and a boombox before adding band members and instruments one by one, song by song. It’s a brilliant gambit that Demme stages with energy and humanity.
Cinecom Pictures
"It Might Get Loud" - Realeyz
Jimmy Page. The Edge. Jack White. Electric guitar. Put these three legends of different generations in a room to talk riffs and fuzz and crank the amps. That’s the set up for Davis Guggenheim’s documentary that’s more a classic rock, audiofile’s dream come true than a traditional rock doc. And while the individual profiles of each guitarist aren’t all they could be, there’s a lot of fun to be had watching each of them explain the tricks of their trade, from White shredding on a makeshift two-by-four and wire or The Edge and White’s awed reverence when they realize they’re sitting in front of Jimmy Page as he’s playing “Whole Lotta Love.”
Sony Pictures Classics
"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" - Netflix, Realeyz
The aptly titled “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is like a real-life “Spinal Tap.” They even have a drummer named Robb Reiner. The film follows an aging, Canadian metal band that became influential in the ‘80s but never found commercial success, persistently touring in rinky dink clubs ever since. Sacha Gervasi’s documentary is a humorous look at their sort of comeback tour.
"George Harrison: Living in the Material World" - Netflix
Martin Scorsese’s tribute to the Quiet Beatle pushes nearly four hours, getting profound, emotional interviews out of Harrison’s wife Olivia and family as they reflect on his spirituality and the last years of his life. Scorsese makes the argument that George, even more than John Lennon or Paul McCartney, was the Beatle with the most depth and multitude.
HBO
"Shut Up and Play the Hits" - Amazon Prime Video
It’s a bit odd watching “Shut Up and Play the Hits” today, which was meant to serve as LCD Soundsystem’s goodbye tour in which they played a raucous, final show at Madison Square Garden. But even though they’ve reunited, the film still packs an emotional wallop at the sight of front man James Murphy sobbing in a fear that he truly did not know his future beyond this moment.
Oscilloscope
"Amy" - Netflix
Asif Kapadia’s documentary on the late Amy Winehouse is an often harrowing portrait of depression and celebrity, playing up Winehouse’s talent and charm in grainy home movies “before the world wanted a piece of her.” Her songs “Rehab” and “Back to Black” take on scary resonance when we get to hear Winehouse’s raw vocal tracks, and the film feels hypnotic by foregoing any on-camera interviews and only utilizing archive footage of the young star.
A24
"20 Feet From Stardom" - Netflix
The Oscar-winning “20 Feet From Stardom” has a lot of rock stars in it, but none as its subjects. Morgan Neville’s film is insightful because it does more than give a few people a platform to shine; it delves into the complicated nuances of being both a backup singer, not to mention an underappreciated woman in a male-dominated music industry.
Radius-TWC
"The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years" - Hulu
You’d be hard pressed to find better sounding, more pristine concert footage of The Beatles anywhere. Ron Howard’s film focuses on the Fab Four’s whirlwind touring years before hanging it all up in the mid ‘60s.
Hulu
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Unvarnished looks at The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Amy Winehouse and more
The best rock documentaries, or rock docs, or rockumentaries if you prefer, provide and unvarnished look at an already iconic performer or band. They peel back the layers of their on-stage persona while also offering intimate, magnetic performances that go beyond just the over-produced concert film. It has been a staple for so long that the parody film “This is Spinal Tap” might be the genre’s finest example. The latest in this vein is this weekend’s “Bad Reputation,” about the career of guitarist Joan Jett. So if after seeing that you’re in the mood for other rock documentaries, these are among the best and are all available for streaming now.
Janus Films
