If you’ve ever watched a TV show and found yourself screaming at the main characters for their terrible decision-making, Netflix’s latest interactive offering puts the audience firmly in the director’s chair.
With Netflix's new interactive features, available on 20 shows, documentaries and films all accessible in the UAE, viewers can influence the outcome of the tale.
Cat Burglar is the newest addition to Netflix’s interactive slate.
Created by Charlie Brooker, the brains behind Black Mirror, the audience is invited to help Rowdy the cat evade Peanut the security dog as he tries to steal some paintings. With a series of questions to be answered using the remote control throughout the 15-minute-long show, getting the answers right or wrong will affect the direction the narrative takes.
“You’re controlling the luck of the character, rather than the decisions they’re making, if that makes any sense,” Brooker told The Guardian. “It’s a curious experiment, and I can’t quite work out how it will be received. It’s not aimed at children, although the idea was it’s not necessarily massively off-putting to children.”
Interact with 20 different shows
With hundreds of different outcomes on offer depending on how you answer, Cat Burglar joins the likes of The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!, Minecraft: Story Mode, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and survival adventure You vs Wild: Out Cold, featuring popular British survivalist Bear Grylls.
In You vs Wild: Out Cold, the audience follows Grylls as he survives a plane crash but suffers from amnesia. The audience has to help him make the right choices to locate the missing pilot and survive not only the freezing temperatures but also the wild animals lurking in the frozen tundra.
“I’m about to embark on one of my most epic adventures, and this time you’re going to be in charge,” Grylls says in the trailer. “So, get packing, get ready, because every jungle, desert, mountain that I’m in, every decision is your decision. You’re going to dictate what I do.”
From personalised meditation to helping out ‘Puss in Boots’
December 2018 marked a turning point in interactive television, when the acclaimed techno-dystopian show Black Mirror released its Bandersnatch episode on Netflix.
The episode, set in 1984, allowed the audience to make decisions for the main character, a video programmer called Stefan Butler, as he adapts a “choose your own adventure” book into a video game.
While Bandersnatch wasn’t the first foray into collaborative entertainment, which began back in 2016 with the interactive film Late Shift, it signalled a new era in storytelling by streaming services, which now encompasses everything from children's TV favourite Stretch Armstrong, to making an escape from the spooky mansion of WWE star The Undertaker.
There’s also the chance to create your own personalised meditative show in Headspace: Unwind Your Mind, head to Shanghai to shadow a super-thief in Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal and dictate the action in children's favourite Puss in Boots, as he falls into a magic storybook in Puss in Boots: Trapped in an Epic Tale.
Type “interactive specials” into the Netflix search bar to find the full list of immersive shows
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Griselda
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
