Many people will have watched a show and hated the ending or a particular character’s choices. Now, Netflix’s interactive shows, beginning with Puss in Book, are giving people control over how a plot plays out. But how does letting viewers guide a story affect their relationship with the content?

Stuck to their smartphones and accustomed to watching what they want, when they want, broadcasters have struggled to adapt to Gen Z’s TV viewing habits. But Skam, a Norwegian teen drama, is demonstrating how ‘real-time’ episodes and social media integration can keep teens hooked on a show.

After successfully creating interactive content for children, Netflix is now experimenting with similar TV shows aimed at adults. These programmes will let viewers make plot-defining decisions all the way through an episode, letting them influence the outcome at will.

Episode is a mobile game that creates versions of popular TV shows and movies for mobile, translating them into choose-your-own-adventure animations. Rather than pioneering new stories, Episode is renewing old narratives with a mode of storytelling that suits Gen Z media habits.