Recap: Netflix is no stranger to thinking outside of the box when it comes to content creation and distribution. The company toyed with a choose your own adventure format in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and popularized binge watching with its all-at-once release schedule.
Sources familiar with the matter tell The Hollywood Reporter that Netflix has ordered a new thriller series called Jigsaw that'll track the planning, execution and aftermath of a massive heist. The eight-part series will span 24 years in chronological order, but what's interesting is how viewers will be able to consume each episode.
Rather than having to watch in a linear fashion, sources say viewers are free to watch the first seven episodes in any order they choose. Episode eight, the finale, ties everything up, we're told. Neat, right?
Apparently the concept isn't entirely original, as Paramount did something similar with true crime drama Interrogation last year. That series was canceled after just one season, however.
Jigsaw (no relation to the Saw franchise) will star Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Paz Vega (Rambo: Last Blood) and Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist, The Man in the High Castle), and is said to be loosely based on a real-life story involving $70 billion in bearer bonds that were in danger during Hurricane Sandy.
The only concern I can foresee with a project like this is the potential for disconnect. Presumably, the stories told in the first seven episodes don't overlap with each other or depend on one another. If you've got a bad memory like me and don't watch the series in a timely fashion, it's possible that you could forget some of what happened in other episodes.
Still, I'm intrigued, and look forward to checking it out. No word yet on a release date, however.