Netflix Adding New Feature for Viewers Looking to Watch Something New

The days of being stumped as far as what to watch next are officially over thanks to a new feature set to be rolled out by Netflix this week. The streaming company confirmed Wednesday that it is officially launching “Play Something,” a shuffle play feature that will allow the streamer to take the decision making out of subscribers’ hands.

The new tool, which acts like a shuffle button, selects a series or movie for you to watch. While the random selection is based on what you’ve watched before, if you do not like what the algorithm selects, you can simply hit “Play Something Else,” which will select a different series or film that you haven’t seen before, one you’re already watching, one that is on your list, or an unfinished series or film you may want to revisit. Cameron Johnson, Netflix’s director of product innovation, said in a statement to Variety, “When finding your next story, let the story find you. Whether you’re in the mood for a new or familiar favorite, just ‘Play Something’ and let Netflix handle the rest.”

“There are times when we just don’t want to make decisions,” Johnson added in the official blog post announcing the new feature. “A Friday evening after a long work week. A fridge full of food but nothing jumps out. A family movie night where no one can agree. We’ve all been there. Sometimes you just want to open Netflix and dive right into a new story. That’s why we’ve created Play Something, an exciting new way to kick back and watch.”

The “Play Something” feature is set to be available to subscribers today, Wednesday, April 28. Currently, the feature can be accessed on TVs, where it is located underneath your profile name, the 10th row on your Netflix homepage, and on the navigation menu on the left of the screen. The company confirmed that it plans to roll the feature out on its Android mobile app soon, though a time frame was not given. The company also did not provide details on when “Play Something” will be available on iOS devices.

The feature’s launch comes after Netflix announced during its January earnings call results it would be rolling out a “shuffle play” feature to customers worldwide sometime in 2021. At the time, Greg Peters, COO and chief product officer, said sometimes users come to the platform “and they’re not really sure what they want to watch. It’s really working for us where our members can basically indicate to us that they just want to skip browsing entirely, click one button and we’ll pick a title for them just to instantly play.” According to Entertainment Weekly, Netflix has been testing a shuffle play feature with smaller groups of subscribers over the course of a few years and gathered feedback to determine if the feature should be rolled out for all subscribers.