Join or Sign In

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Netflix's Secret Codes That Will Help You Find What to Watch Fast

Liberate yourself from the algorithm and cheat the system

Phil Owen

Nov. 27, 2024 at 11:45 a.m. PT

1 of 17 Netflix

Stop Browsing Like a Chump

It's a tale as old as time: You pull up Netflix to find something to watch, but then you just browse until you pass out instead of actually watching something. That's just how it goes sometimes when you're dealing with an algorithm-driven streaming service that's always making wrong guesses about what you'd enjoy today. Fortunately, we've got a strange little trick you can use that will be a big help in navigating the mess of stuff that is Netflix.

Normally, when you're browsing Netflix, you'll pick a genre, like drama, and the app will serve you up a bunch of random subcategories seemingly at random. So if you pull up "drama" on Netflix, you might get a row of thriller movies, followed by rows of subcategories like "21st Century social issue dramas" and "British TV dramas" and the like. The app serves these to you as it sees fit.

But the Netflix algorithms aren't dynamically making up these categorizations on the fly. When a movie or show is added to Netflix, it's labeled with a number of these granular subgenres, and it's actually possible to pull up these subcategories manually — so when you're hankering for a spy thriller, you can actually pull up a list of Netflix's spy thriller movies instead of having to scroll endlessly through the general thriller category. We'll show you how below.

2 of 17 Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix

How to use Netflix's secret codes to browse Netflix subgenres

Every one of those little subgenres that you see on your Netflix app has a number that goes with it, and you can use that number to search the corresponding subgenre. There are two ways to do this: You can search the number for the category you want directly in the app, using the search function, or if you're using a web browser, you can use a special url construction — netflix.com/browse/genre/xxxxx — with the designated code at the end in place of the xxxxx.

This trick makes perusing Netflix so much easier for those who want to browse with a bit more intent, though keep in mind that there are a lot of these subgenres. But don't worry, because we're about to go through them. Scroll down to find the codes for your favorite subgenres, and to help you start watching right now, we've linked every code directly to Netflix.

3 of 17 Clay Enos/Netflix

Action & Adventure Netflix Codes

These codes are for action-oriented movies and shows:

4 of 17 Netflix

Drama Netflix Codes

These codes are for drama films and series of all stripes:

5 of 17 John Wilson/Netflix

Comedy Netflix Codes

These codes will come in handy when you need a good laugh:

6 of 17 Andrea Resmini/NETFLIX

Horror Movie Netflix Codes

If you want blood, you got it with these spooky horror subgenres:

7 of 17 Parrish Lewis/Netflix

Sci-fi and Fantasy Netflix Codes

These codes cover all things nerdy in Netflix's library:

8 of 17 JoJo Whilden / Netflix

Thriller Netflix Codes

If you're looking for suspense, this is the place:

9 of 17 Matt Lankes/Netflix

Romance Netflix Codes

If you're looking for love, these codes can help you find it:

10 of 17 Netflix

Documentary Netflix Codes

For all the true stories you can and can't handle, such as Our Planet's uncomfortable truths about man-made climate change, try these codes:

11 of 17 Quim Vives/Netflix

Foreign Movie Netflix Codes

Use these codes to briefly escape from whatever it is America is doing right now:

12 of 17 Scott Yamano/Netflix

Sports Movie Netflix Codes

All the sports melodrama you can handle is right here:

LGBTQ+ Netflix Codes

For stories that are a bit less ordinary than the rest:

14 of 17 Sam Levy/Netflix

Independent Film Netflix Codes

These movies were made outside the system:

15 of 17 Netflix

TV Show Netflix Codes

The category you want when you're in the mood for bingeing:

16 of 17 Netflix

Christmas Movie Netflix Codes

For when it's time to get into the festive spirit:

17 of 17 Christopher Saunders/Netflix

More Netflix Recommendations

Looking for more things to watch on Netflix? Let us do the browsing for you with our best of lists: