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Netflix's new 'Play Something' feature will remove the stress of picking something to watch by choosing a show or movie for you

Avery Hartmans   

Netflix's new 'Play Something' feature will remove the stress of picking something to watch by choosing a show or movie for you
Tech2 min read
  • Netflix is adding a new shuffle-play button called "Play Something."
  • Play Something will pick a series or movie on your behalf based on your interests.
  • The feature is rolling out on TVs globally on Wednesday and is coming to Android devices soon.

After a year of staying at home, trying to decide on something to stream can be a daunting task. Thanks to a new Netflix feature, that agony may be coming to an end.

Netflix on Wednesday launched a new feature called "Play Something." The new tool, which acts like a shuffle button, will choose a series or movie on your behalf based on other things you've watched in the past. If you don't like what it serves up, you can hit "Play Something Else" and it will supply either a new movie or show, or one you're already watching, didn't finish, or have already added to your list.

Play Something will show up multiple times in the app, including underneath your profile name, on your Netflix homepage, and in the navigation menu on the left side.

The feature is rolling out on TVs worldwide on Wednesday and will be coming to Android devices soon, Netflix says.

Read more: Netflix has kept churn low despite price hikes and intensifying competition, and it could be a key to success during a tough 2021

Netflix has been testing a shuffle-play feature since last summer and announced during its fourth-quarter earnings report in January that the feature would be rolling out in the first half of 2021. Greg Peters, Netflix's COO and chief product officer, said at the time that the feature was "really working for us" and that the company had found that sometimes, users just want to "skip browsing entirely" and have Netflix choose a title for them.

Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, jokingly asked at the time whether Netflix was going to name the feature "I'm feeling lucky," a reference to an early Google feature that let you head directly to the top search result for your query rather than browsing through pages of websites.

Netflix has also tested other similar features, including the option on Android to play a random episode of a TV show like "The Office" or "Arrested Development." Hulu has done the same, adding a shuffle button for "Seinfeld" in 2019.

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