Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Use the 'secret codes' to find specific films and series. Bloomberg
Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Use the 'secret codes' to find specific films and series. Bloomberg
Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Use the 'secret codes' to find specific films and series. Bloomberg
Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Use the 'secret codes' to find specific films and series. Bloomberg

The National

Tired of the algorithm? Use 'secret codes' on Netflix to find really specific content you actually want to watch

Narrow down what's on the streaming platform's vast library to get to the good stuff

Katy Gillett
Katy Gillett

April 22, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Work has finished for the day. You've moved from your makeshift home desk to the couch, and now you face what is perhaps the biggest dilemma of your day: what to watch.

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On Netflix Middle East alone there are countless films and series to pick from. When you throw Amazon Prime, Starzplay and OSN Streaming into the mix, the choice is mind-boggling.

Not all of it is good content, either. Before you know it, out of pure exasperation of looking indecisively through the same titles night after night, you give up and put on yet another Friends re-run.

Well, did you know there's a neat little trick that might just save your evening?

There are all sorts of 'secret codes' you can use to find really specific content you enjoy watching.

Are you a big fan of Asian action movies, for example? Well, there's a whole host of them on the local platform. You just need to use the code 77232 to see them all.

It's easy: head to the Netflix website and log in, then use the url www.netflix.com/browse/genre/[insert code here].

An exhaustive list of every single code and niche genre that exists on Netflix lives on the internet here. It would take all day to count them up, but suffice it to say there are a huge amount.

Find all the Asian Action Films by typing in a code on Netflix.
Find all the Asian Action Films by typing in a code on Netflix.

These are divided into parent genres, such as action flicks or romantic-comedies, but also types of TV shows and even very specific types of films. This includes "action and adventure based on a book from the 1960s", "biographical tearjerkers" and "cerebral Japanese dramas". You might want to watch a children and family movie starring Ashley Olsen, a comedy directed by Mel Brooks or a critically-acclaimed mind-bending sci-fi and fantasy movie. There are codes for all of them.

Of course, as each region has different content, not all of these will be relevant in the UAE. If you search for mockumentaries, for example, you'll find none here.

To make it easier for you, we've listed below a relatively small selection of genres that offer plenty of choice in our region.

Use the codes in brackets beside each one, or simply click on the link to access the options.

Action and adventure

Anime

Children and family films

Comedies

Foreign films

British Movies (10757)

Horror movies

Romantic movies

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?

Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

Television