Hawaii Five-0 is going interactive. In less than two weeks, the show will air a special episode during which viewers will be able to vote for one of three potential bad guys via CBS.com and Twitter, with the most popular ending airing during the episode, and the two other potential endings shot being made available online later in the night after the episode airs.
CBS is not usually the first network I’d consider as a chance taker. Heavy on the formatted procedurals and joke-joke-joke comedies, the network knows how to play it safe and bring in some big numbers. Which is why this ‘choose your own ending’ format is so outside the box for the network. According to Deadline, the episode will air on January 14, and will follow the police team as they look into the death of a professor at O’ahu State University. In the episode, the professor’s boss, one of his students, and his TA will all be written so they each have viable potential reasons to have committed the crime. Ultimately, it will be completely up to the audience to determine who did a bad, bad thing.
Honestly, though, I think the most exciting part of the ‘choose your own ending’ is that East coast and West coast broadcasts have the chance to be completely different. The votes will be tallied up during the East Coast broadcast and one ending will be revealed. Separately, the votes will be counted during the West Coast broadcast and that ending will be revealed. It’ll be interesting to see whether one coast agrees with the other on the evidence or reveals completely different viewpoints. At the end of the day, everyone kind of wins, as all the potential endings will be made available online.
