When you Netflix more than you chill, it’s only a matter of time before you spend more time looking for something to watch than watching.
This happens to me more often than not. I’ll get comfy on the couch, snacks in hand, with a vague idea of what I want to watch, but then I can’t seem to find what I’m looking for in Netflix’s categories and settle for something I didn’t even really want to watch, to begin with.
Settling for something inevitably worsens the problem because I start seeing recommendations based on previous selections – things I never intended to watch.
It’s an endless struggle that has led me on a quest to find out how to level up my Netflix to get the most out of the experience – which is where Netflix’s secret codes come into the picture.
In a nutshell, Netflix codes allow viewers to see content outside of their curated feed. Netflix secret codes categorise all Netflix’s movies and series based on alt-genres, such as:
- Plot
- Characters
- Location and setting
- Rating
- Language
- Type of ending
According to Netflix, these secret codes date back to when Netflix was renting out DVDs. Back then, Netflix.com had a public-facing genre tree that linked to various types of films and TV series, each with its own specific ID code.
It wasn’t long before someone went and scraped the genre tree for all the codes and shared the list online, and people have been using this ever-growing list ever since.
New secret codes are added constantly for fans of the service to discover. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a code for Human Connections was added to help people cope with the isolation. When Pete Davidson rapped about wanting to watch Short-Ass Movies, the team responded with a code of the same name.
Using the secret codes couldn’t be easier. If you’re watching Netflix on your Smart TV or mobile phoned, all you need to do is open the Netflix app, go to the search bar and enter the code.
If you’re watching on a browser, head to the homepage and type: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/[code] into the address bar – with [code] representing the unique code you want to use.
It’s that easy. At the moment, the number of codes available totals over 4000, so it would be impossible to include all of them – but here is a starter kit with some of the codes I’m going to be using for my own Netflix binge nights:
Watch in One Weekend
Code: 3182735
Watch in One Night
Code: 3178549
90-Minute Movies
Code: 81466194
30-Minute Laughs
Code: 81602050
Chosen Family
Code: 81231348
Cyberpunk
Code: 1964512
Family Movie Night
Code: 2013975
High Brow Horror
Code: 3261672
Irreverent TV Comedies
Code: 75480
Totally Awesome ’80s
Code: 2314106
Nostalgic ’90s
Code: 2691941
Adult animation
Code: 11881
Cult Flicks
Code: 7627
B-Horror Movies
Code: 8195
Camp Movies
Code: 1252
Cult Comedies
Code: 9434
Cult Horror Movies
Code: 10944
Comic Book & Superhero Movies
Code: 10118
Anime Comedies
Code: 9302
Anime Horror
Code: 10695
Movies Based on Kids’ Books
Code: 10056
TV Cartoons
Code: 11177
Film Noir
Code: 7687
Late Night Comedies
Code: 1402
Horror Comedy
Code: 89585
Slasher & Serial Killer Movies
Code: 8646
Survival Horror
Code: 2939659
Zombie Horror Movies
Code: 75405
Alien Sci-Fi
Code: 3327
Spy Thrillers
Code: 9147
TV Horror
Code: 83059
TV Mysteries
Code: 4366
Experimental Movies
Code: 11079
Halloween Teen Screams
Code: 52147
There isn’t any central place to find Netflix’s secret codes, and it’s an ever-growing list, so if you’re looking for even more codes, Google is your friend.