Netflix's first interactive TV show — "Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale" starring the the "Shrek" character, Puss in Boots —premiered on the streaming service Tuesday, offering viewers the opportunity to choose their own narrative.
Produced by Dreamworks Animation, "Puss in Book" empowers Netflix subscribers to decide what happens to the fearless feline. In the story, Puss finds himself trapped in a fairy tale book and viewers must must help the him escape by going through a series of challenges.
Netflix's head of product innovation, Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, told Business Insider that her company had been considering an interactive show for the past three years.
On the backend of production, "Puss in Book" utilizes the idea of "branching." Viewers are presented two options and the choices they make determines which path, or "branch," Puss will take.
Netflix told Business Insider that, in the future, it would like to include more than the two-choice options.
“I have a six-year-old daughter who talks to these shows all the time,” Fisher told Variety in a recent interview with Variety. Unlike other popular kids shows, such as “Dora the Explorer” or “Blue’s Clues,” "Puss in Book" allows children to interact with their favorite characters. Before, it was a "faux two-way conversation,” Fisher told Variety.
In addition to “Puss in Book,” Netflix will soon release another interactive show, “Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile,” on July 14.
Half of Netflix's subscribers watch children’s and family shows on a monthly basis, Business Insider reported.
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