Netflix “Doubling Down” on Interactive Storytelling After ‘Bandersnatch’ Success

Netflix is doubling down on interactive series after the global success of Black Mirror spinoff Bandersnatch, the streaming giant’s VP, product, Todd Yellin, revealed in Mumbai on Tuesday. Yellin was delivering a keynote presentation at the 20th edition of media and entertainment conference, FICCI-Frames.

“It’s a huge hit here in India, it’s a huge hit around the world, and we realized, wow, interactive storytelling is something we want to bet more on,” Yellin said. “We’re doubling down on that. So expect over the next year or two, to see more interactive storytelling. And it won’t necessarily be science fiction, or it won’t necessarily be dark. It could be a wacky comedy. It could be a romance, where the audience gets to choose, should she go out with him or him.”

Yellin also announced plans to further expand Indian content production. “Expect that to double next year, and then double again,” he said.

He explained that Indian original series Sacred Games, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, and starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte, was a global hit for the service, with two out of three viewers of the show living outside India. The number of languages Netflix content will be available in is increasing from 25 to 30, Yellin said.