Netflix killed its interactive shows, fans are bringing them back

On December 1st, Netflix removed almost all of them interactive TV shows. However, a group of fans (and even some people who worked on the deleted material) are working together to keep these interactive shows around and playing even after Netflix pulls the plug to draw

On November 5, Netflix confirmed it was removing 20 interactive shows from his streaming catalog, including shows based on Jurassic World, Carmen San Diego, and Baby Boss. After December 1, only four interactive shows were left standing on Netflix: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Incredible Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs Reverend, Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls, and You vs Wild. But a small group of fans, unhappy with the news, have spent the past few weeks archiving and preserving the now-deleted shows.

As reported by 404 Mediabefore December 1, fans used Discord to organize an effort to record and archive as many of the soon-to-be-deleted shows. Others have worked to reverse how Netflix created the interactive video experiences.

“I couldn't let this work go to waste,” explained Pixel, one of the fans working to archive everything 404 Media. “We're talking about over 100 hours of video and ~a thousand hours of dubbing. “

According to the outlet, some shows are already fully narrated and can be enjoyed through other video players. Other shows have been uploaded to YouTube and mimic the interactivity using on-screen links and cards that take you to other archived videos. This really looks like a technique Netflix created some YouTube-exclusive ads promote the interactive displays a few years ago.

To make people talk to them, 404 Media they agreed not to share the Discord channel and other places where these archival techniques occur. My city they don't share them either. There is fear in the community that Netflix they will derail their efforts if these alternatives are shared publicly online.

Pixel said 404 Media that Netflix's interactive shows relied on “internal video” in which the tracks and endings were different. According to the archive, these interactive presentations were controlled by two JSON files. One controlled decisions and where to jump in the video and the other file pulled in assets for the buttons.

“We currently have a proof-of-concept emulator running off a Python script that uses the JSONs to make actionable decisions, although it needs ironing and the button icons are broken as of now ,” explained Pixel. “We have a team member in Turkey who will be hosting the files for once we get the emulator working on a web page.”

According to Pixel, right now the biggest challenge fans face in archiving all their deleted Netflix content is keeping track of it all.

“A lot of people are counting on us,” Pixel said, “And I get a lot of DMs from people asking how to play them.”

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