Ever notice how Netflix likes to switch up what categories appear on your Netflix home? You spend a cozy night watching Anime Sci-Fi then head to work the next morning. Your S.O. hops on your account and when you come back that next afternoon you find that suddenly you’re cycling through classic thrillers, documentaries, and boxing movies – none of which were there yesterday. What gives?
Netflix runs an algorithm that takes note of the sections you watch most often. That way, it knows what kinds of movies and shows are most up your alley. Watch a lot of independent action & adventure? Don’t be surprised to see a list of independent thrillers show up next time you log in. Is it nosy? Maybe a little. Does it help introduce you to new titles and entertainment? Also yes. “We categorize our content into thousands of subgenres to help match the right content to the right member based on their viewing history,” says Netflix spokesperson Marlee Tart.
It’s a great way to be introduced to channels that cater to your interests, but it’s less helpful when you’re looking to browse a genre that’s not your usual cup of tea. If you’ve got a Netflix mostly devoted to military dramas you’re not going to see many titles for child education or romantic comedies. So if you need to find an entire cache of child education movies (the kids are staying over for the weekend) it’s going to be harder.
That’s where our trick comes in.
How to access hidden Netflix categories
Activating a genre of your choice is as simple as entering the URL for it in your browser. That’s right – you can only do this on a computer with internet access. Fear not if you want to watch it with your trusty TV remote, however; there’s a way to do that too. We’ll get to that in just a second. In the meantime, it’s three easy steps:
1. Open your internet browser
To start off, open your chosen internet browser (we prefer Chrome).
2. Enter the following URL
http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/
… but don’t hit enter just yet!
3. Add the digit pin to the end of the URL
Here’s where you need to enter the specific numeric code to go to your chosen category. Put it right at the end of the above URL. We have the list of the numeral extensions per category right here:
- Action & Adventure: 1365
- Action Comedies: 43040
- Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 1568
- Action Thrillers: 43048
- Adult Animation: 11881
- Adventures: 7442
- African Movies: 3761
- Alien Sci-Fi: 3327
- Animal Tales: 5507
- Anime: 7424
- Anime Action: 2653
- Anime Comedies: 9302
- Anime Dramas: 452
- Anime Fantasy: 11146
- Anime Features: 3063
- Anime Horror: 10695
- Anime Sci-Fi: 2729
- Anime Series: 6721
- Art House Movies: 29764
- Asian Action Movies: 77232
- Australian Movies: 5230
- B-Horror Movies: 8195
- Baseball Movies: 12339
- Basketball Movies: 12762
- Belgian Movies: 262
- Biographical Documentaries: 3652
- Biographical Dramas: 3179
- Boxing Movies: 12443
- British Movies: 10757
- British TV Shows: 52117
- Campy Movies: 1252
- Children & Family Movies: 783
- Chinese Movies: 3960
- Classic Action & Adventure: 46576
- Classic Comedies: 31694
- Classic Dramas: 29809
- Classic Foreign Movies: 32473
- Classic Movies: 31574
- Classic Musicals: 32392
- Classic Romantic Movies: 31273
- Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 47147
- Classic Thrillers: 46588
- Classic TV Shows: 46553
- Classic War Movies: 48744
- Classic Westerns: 47465
- Comedies: 6548
- Comic Book and Superhero Movies: 10118
- Country & Western/Folk: 1105
- Courtroom Dramas: 2748
- Creature Features: 6895
- Crime Action & Adventure: 9584
- Crime Documentaries: 9875
- Crime Dramas: 6889
- Crime Thrillers: 10499
- Crime TV Shows: 26146
- Cult Comedies: 9434
- Cult Horror Movies: 10944
- Cult Movies: 7627
- Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 4734
- Cult TV Shows: 74652
- Dark Comedies: 869
- Deep Sea Horror Movies: 45028
- Disney: 67673
- Disney Musicals: 59433
- Documentaries: 6839
- Dramas: 5763
- Dramas based on Books: 4961
- Dramas based on real life: 3653
- Dutch Movies: 10606
- Eastern European Movies: 5254
- Education for Kids: 10659
- Epics: 52858
- Experimental Movies: 11079
- Faith & Spirituality: 26835
- Faith & Spirituality Movies: 52804
- Family Features: 51056
- Fantasy Movies: 9744
- Film Noir: 7687
- Food & Travel TV: 72436
- Football Movies: 12803
- Foreign Action & Adventure: 11828
- Foreign Comedies: 4426
- Foreign Documentaries: 5161
- Foreign Dramas: 2150
- Foreign Gay & Lesbian Movies: 8243
- Foreign Horror Movies: 8654
- Foreign Movies: 7462
- Foreign Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 6485
- Foreign Thrillers: 10306
- French Movies: 58807
- Gangster Movies: 31851
- Gay & Lesbian Dramas: 500
- German Movies: 58886
- Greek Movies: 61115
- Historical Documentaries: 5349
- Horror Comedy: 89585
- Horror Movies: 8711
- Independent Action & Adventure: 11804
- Independent Comedies: 4195
- Independent Dramas: 384
- Independent Movies: 7077
- Independent Thrillers: 3269
- Indian Movies: 10463
- Irish Movies: 58750
- Italian Movies: 8221
- Japanese Movies: 10398
- Jazz & Easy Listening: 10271
- Kids Faith & Spirituality: 751423
- Kids Music: 52843
- Kids’ TV: 27346
- Korean Movies: 5685
- Korean TV Shows: 67879
- Late Night Comedies: 1402
- Latin American Movies: 1613
- Latin Music: 10741
- Martial Arts Movies: 8985
- Martial Arts, Boxing & Wrestling: 6695
- Middle Eastern Movies: 5875
- Military Action & Adventure: 2125
- Military Documentaries: 4006
- Military Dramas: 11
- Military TV Shows: 25804
- Miniseries: 4814
- Mockumentaries: 26
- Monster Movies: 947
- Movies based on children’s books: 10056
- Movies for ages 0 to 2: 6796
- Movies for ages 2 to 4: 6218
- Movies for ages 5 to 7: 5455
- Movies for ages 8 to 10: 561
- Movies for ages 11 to 12: 6962
- Music & Concert Documentaries: 90361
- Music: 1701
- Musicals: 13335
- Mysteries: 9994
- New Zealand Movies: 63782
- Period Pieces: 12123
- Political Comedies: 2700
- Political Documentaries: 7018
- Political Dramas: 6616
- Political Thrillers: 10504
- Psychological Thrillers: 5505
- Quirky Romance: 36103
- Reality TV: 9833
- Religious Documentaries: 10005
- Rock & Pop Concerts: 3278
- Romantic Comedies: 5475
- Romantic Dramas: 1255
- Romantic Favorites: 502675
- Romantic Foreign Movies: 7153
- Romantic Independent Movies: 9916
- Romantic Movies: 8883
- Russian: 11567
- Satanic Stories: 6998
- Satires: 4922
- Scandinavian Movies: 9292
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 1492
- Sci-Fi Adventure: 6926
- Sci-Fi Dramas: 3916
- Sci-Fi Horror Movies: 1694
- Sci-Fi Thrillers: 11014
- Science & Nature Documentaries: 2595
- Science & Nature TV: 52780
- Screwball Comedies: 9702
- Showbiz Dramas: 5012
- Showbiz Musicals: 13573
- Silent Movies: 53310
- Slapstick Comedies: 10256
- Slasher and Serial Killer Movies: 8646
- Soccer Movies: 12549
- Social & Cultural Documentaries: 3675
- Social Issue Dramas: 3947
- Southeast Asian Movies: 9196
- Spanish Movies: 58741
- Spiritual Documentaries: 2760
- Sports & Fitness: 9327
- Sports Comedies: 5286
- Sports Documentaries: 180
- Sports Dramas: 7243
- Sports Movies: 4370
- Spy Action & Adventure: 10702
- Spy Thrillers: 9147
- Stage Musicals: 55774
- Stand-up Comedy: 11559
- Steamy Romantic Movies: 35800
- Steamy Thrillers: 972
- Supernatural Horror Movies: 42023
- Supernatural Thrillers: 11140
- Tearjerkers: 6384
- Teen Comedies: 3519
- Teen Dramas: 9299
- Teen Screams: 52147
- Teen TV Shows: 60951
- Thrillers: 8933
- Travel & Adventure Documentaries: 1159
- TV Action & Adventure: 10673
- TV Cartoons: 11177
- TV Comedies: 10375
- TV Documentaries: 10105
- TV Dramas: 11714
- TV Horror: 83059
- TV Mysteries: 4366
- TV Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 1372
- TV Shows: 83
- Urban & Dance Concerts: 9472
- Vampire Horror Movies: 75804
- Werewolf Horror Movies: 75930
- Westerns: 7700
- World Music Concerts: 2856
- Zombie Horror Movies: 75405
So your URL will look something like:
http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/75405
Punch this in and you’ll be taken to a list of zombie horror movies. Happy Halloween.
For when you’re not on a browser
If you like watching movies and TV shows on the big screen from the comfort of your sofa, we can’t blame you. In order to access these categories there all you need to do is hop on your computer, enter the URL on your browser (as shown above) and start watching any random selection. Bookmark it and now you can access both the selection and the genre category any place that’s linked to your Netflix account!
Check out this Chrome extension
Like watching Netflix on your computer? There’s a Google Chrome extension that can explore thousands of categories that are hidden by default. You can download it right here. Netflix Categories is a lightweight (and free) extension that can instantly search for verified hidden categories as well as bookmark them easy access later on.
We hope this guide has been helpful for properly expanding your binge habits. Until next time, happy browsing!
