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Big on the Internet

Netflix Is Hiding Movies and Shows From You. Here’s How To Watch Them

A. Mana Nava
  and 
Alyssa Shotwell
|

Published: Jan 18, 2024 04:41 pm

Over the weekend, I was with my roommate at our usual bar for brunch. She was looking for a specific dystopian sci-fi/fantasy movie to fall asleep to. We looked at the suggested categories on the Netflix app, but couldn’t find anything that fit what she was looking for. What could’ve solved this issue is knowing about the Netflix genre cheat codes.

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We all know the major genres like action, comedy, drama, et al. Then there are the subgenres like action sci-fi, which moves faster and is less science-heavy than an alien sci-fi flick. Sometimes you’re in the mood to evoke a specific feeling or follow a certain plot thread. After all, some days you just need to decompress with a quirky romance or a B-horror movie.

What’s great about these subgenre pages is that they have similar lists to those on the main page: top picks, trending now, new releases, popular on Netflix, only on Netflix, gems for you, and then it has cross subgenres. For example, in “action, sci-fi, and fantasy,” there’s a list for anime and futuristic sci-fi.

Accessing hidden Netflix pages

To use a cheat code, you copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/

Then, after the last forward slash, you copy and paste the code for the subgenre you want to explore.

Using Netflix cheat codes

Action & Adventure (1365)

luke walking through bullets in Luke Cage
(Netflix)

Anime (7424)

Retsuko, the red panda in the animated series 'Aggretsuko.'
(Netflix)

Children & Family Movies (783)

Miriam, Qwydion, Roland, and Lacklon in the animated series 'Dragon Age: Absolution'
(Netflix)

Classic Movies (31574)

Silent Movies (53310) and Classic Westerns (47465) are categories with landing pages, but as of writing these pages are empty.

Comedies (6548)

Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith) peers over a newspaper in a scene from 'That '90s Show'
(Netflix)

Hidden Gems and Cult Movies

Viewers can also sort by unique tags like Campy Movies (1252) and tailored Hidden Gems (hidden-gems). There’s also Cult Movies (7627) and Cult Comedies (9434). The app used to filter them a lot more, but it seems like many of the subgenres were folded into those categories at the moment. While Netflix hasn’t completely gotten rid of the cult categories of B-Horror Movies (8195), Cult Horror Movies (10944), Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy (4734), and Cult Comedies (9434), these pages are currently blank.

Documentaries (6839)

Meghan Markle sits on a couch and smiles in 'Harry & Meghan.'
(Netflix)

Dramas (5763)

Faith & Spirituality

Though the platform definitely has a Christian-bias, Netflix has a pretty wide selection of spiritual films. You can find them under Faith & Spirituality (26835), Faith & Spirituality Movies (52804), and Spiritual Documentaries (2760). The category is still live, but Kids’ Faith & Spirituality (751423) is currently empty. Many films in the other categories feature family stories, too.

Foreign Movies

Netflix has such a large selection of international cinema that the streamer has rehauled this section greatly greatly over the years. It used to be split by many subgenres, but instead only Art House Movies (29764) remains. Now, Netflix features foreign movies by location. Please note that some of these movies are in English or multiple languages. However, most will be in the primary language of the country.

Wanting to watch movies and television, but with dubbing? There are lists for that too!

Gay & Lesbian Movies (5977)

Nick and Peter
(Netflix)

Horror Movies (8711)

Although the categories are not fully retired B-Horror Movies (8195) and Cult Horror Movies (10944) current sit empty.

Independent Movies (7077)

Music (1701)

Viola Davis in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
(David Lee/Netflix)

While the categories are still live, Classic Musicals (32392) and Stage Musicals (55774) are currently blank.

Romantic Movies (8883)

Sci-Fi & Fantasy (1492)

Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown, and Laurence O'Fuarain in The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022)
(Netflix)

You can find an even wider selection of SFF and more under Netflix’s tag Geek Week (81610621).

Also, like in previous sections, Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy (47147) and Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy (4734) sit as empty categories.

Sports Movies (4370)

Thrillers (8933)

TV Shows (83)

Wednesday dancing in Wednesday
(Netflix)

Classic TV Shows (46553) and Miniseries (4814) both are empty categories as of writing.

Happy watching!

(featured image: Netflix)

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Author
Image of A. Mana Nava
A. Mana Nava
Nava was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, they edit economic textbooks by day and write geeky articles for the internet in the evenings. They currently exist on unceded Lenape land aka Brooklyn. (Filipine/a Mexican American)
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Author
Image of Alyssa Shotwell
Alyssa Shotwell
(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.
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