Netflix is removing its two remaining interactive specials, including the critically acclaimed Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
Set in 1984, Bandersnatch tells the story of Stefan Butler, a young programmer who’s developing a game for the ZX Spectrum based on a fantasy novel (the author of which is portrayed in a cameo appearance by Jeff Minter, the creator of games like Tempest 2000 and Attack Of The Mutant Camels).
The 90-minute special was released in 2018 and was one of Netflix‘s first interactive shows, where viewers would be given the chance to which direction the plot would go at specific moments.
Last year Netflix announced that it was planning to remove almost all of its 24 interactive specials, with 20 to be removed by December 1.
As it currently stands, only two remain – Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend – both of which will be removed on May 12, according to What’s On Netflix.
Netflix is reportedly set to roll out a new UI redesign over the coming weeks, and its interactive technology is not part of this redesign, which is why all specials are being removed.
It’s not yet clear whether Bandersnatch will return in a non-interactive form. Last month New on Netflix reported that Netflix had re-added four of its previously removed specials starring survivalist Bear Grylls, but in cut-down versions with the interactivity removed, following a single storyline.
When they were first introduced, Interactive Specials were seen by some as one of Netflix‘s first attempts to add game-like content to its service. This has evolved to Netflix offering its own selection of fully fledged games as both downloadable mobile apps and streaming on TV.
Netflix spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher said last year that the Interactive Special idea had “served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas”.
Bandersnatch won two Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media Within A Scripted Program.
Following the ceremony in 2019, Black Mirror creator and Bandersnatch executive producer Charlie Brooker told press: “I think there will be a lot more interactive [storytelling]. It’s never going to replace sitting back and being told a story, I think it’s just a different genre that will coexist [with others].”
Bandersnatch was named after a real ZX Spectrum game that was so ambitious it never saw the light of day and led to the closure of its developer Imagine Software.
