If you’ve been using Netflix for a while, you may have noticed the streaming platform sorts and displays content in interesting ways. Based on your viewing habits, Netflix’s algorithm does its best to highlight movies and shows it believes you’d enjoy, but searching for something to watch gets a little tougher when all you have for filtering options are broad genres like Action, Comedy, and Horror.
Now, what if we told you that Netflix is also home to an immense trove of hidden genre labels that you can easily implement to enhance your next binge session? While you won’t find these codes anywhere in Netflix’s actual UI, over the years, Netflix users have put together an exhaustive list of these genre IDs. (You can see one of those lists by clicking here.)
Integrating these genre codes into your Netflix search reveals sub-genres on top of sub-genres. Instead of just Action, genre IDs bring clever labels like Action with a Side of Romance (81647318) and Classic Action & Adventure (46576). You’ve been holding out on us, Netflix, but now we know your secrets.
How to use Netflix’s genre codes in your next search
Implementing Netflix genre codes is as easy as putting the ID into the search field of the Netflix app (for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming devices). If you’re logged onto Netflix through a web browser, simply type netflix.com/browse/genre/[insert code] into the URL field.
Netflix’s list of genre codes has more than 36,000 entries, and the pantheon only continues to grow. Mary Bertone, a member of Netflix’s evidence team, claims the IDs can be traced back to Netflix’s DVD-only era.
In those days, the Netflix site featured a complete genre list, and each genre bore a visible code. Well, it turns out a Netflix user did the ole’ copy-paste on all those IDs, so even once Netflix did away with these public-facing labels, fans could still find them (if they knew where to look).
Luckily, all the legacy codes still work, and Netflix developers create new genre IDs on a fairly regular basis. Some of our favorites include: 90-Minute Movies (81466194), Cyberpunk (1964512), Family Movie Night (2013975), and Nostalgic ’90s (2691941).
Rise above the algorithm with genre codes
Streaming platforms like Netflix will lean on content-recommendation algorithms that tend to showcase trending movies and shows, newer titles, and Top 10 picks of the week. This often leaves lesser-known content buried under layers of algorithmic strong-arming, which is why it’s so nice to have a backdoor means of personalizing Netflix searches using genre IDs.
Genre codes are a great way for parents to keep Netflix’s search results extra kid-friendly. They’re also convenient for movie buffs who may want to sort titles by era, actor, or director (Award-Winning Directors is 2787344 — you can thank us later).
It’s hard to say if Netflix will ever have a change of heart about officially sharing the 36,000+ IDs. But at least for now (and through the foreseeable future), we’ll always have the scrappiness of third-party code-list builders on our side. Thanks, internet.
