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These Are the Netflix Codes You Can Use to Take a Shortcut Straight to the Shows and Movies You Actually Want to Watch

7 minute read
Updated: | Originally published: ;

It’s time for the holidays, which means it’s time to search for a holiday movie to watch or a series to binge.

Everyone knows the struggle of sitting down — or, more likely, laying down — to watch Netflix, only to realize you can’t find what you’re looking for. In fact, the conundrum is so universal that there’s even an app that acts like Tinder for streaming to help mitigate the crisis of searching through the thousands of titles on the site.

But thanks to the internet’s greatest streaming sleuths, the process of narrowing down your choices doesn’t have to be so overwhelming. With Netflix’s secret codes, you can find genres more specific than just the basic few the streaming service offers on the site.

For the horror movie lover, Netflix’s horror movies can be narrowed down to zombie horror movies, horror comedy, teen screams and more. Looking for something romantic? Try quirky romance or steamy romance. You’re also not beholden to Netflix’s choices for which film qualifies for which subgenre—many movies and shows appear in two or more sections.

Here are the best Netflix codes to use to take a shortcut straight to the TV shows and movies you want to see.

How to use Netflix codes

Using a Netflix code is simple. Once you have the code you want, type “http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/” into your browser, with the proper Netflix code at the end. For fantasy movies, the code is 9744, so you should head to http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/9744. Though there is a science fiction and fantasy section on Netflix, a code like this one will narrow it down just a bit more.

The hardest part of using the secret system is to find your desired code. But, fear not: We’ve gathered the Netflix genre codes below to hopefully make it easier.

Holiday movies

Whether you’re bored on Christmas Eve or counting the nights of Hanukkah, Netflix has more than enough Christmas movies to keep you busy—including new releases like Let It Snow starring Shameik Moore and Kiernan Shipka and The Knight Before Christmas starring Josh Whitehouse and Vanessa Hudgens.

Romantic Christmas movies: 1394527

Good finds: Let It Snow, A Christmas Prince, The Princess Switch, A Holiday Engagement And here’s TIME’s guide to the very best.

Good finds: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Klaus, Abominable Christmas

Children and family movies

The children and family movies genre can mean a lot of things, from cartoons, to romantic stories that work for the whole family to animals’ antics. The best Netflix trick for kids’ movie-watching is that you can sort these options by age, but also by more specific categories like Disney movies and educational movies.

Movies for ages 0-2: 6796

Movies for ages 3-4: 6218

Movies for ages 5-7: 5455

Movies for ages 8-10: 561

Movies for ages 11-12: 6962

Disney: 67673

Good finds: Mulan, Incredibles 2, Lilo & Stitch, Hercules, Coco

Education for kids: 10659

Good finds: The Magic School Bus Rides Again, Cat in the Hat

TV cartoons: 11177

Good finds: Sofia the First, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, Star Trek: The Animated Series

Documentaries

There’s no movie genre title more amorphous than ‘documentary,’ which can make finding a new story to stream all the more challenging. With documentary codes, you can narrow down the search to the kind of person you want to learn about, the kind of film you want to watch and what topic interests you the most.

Biographical documentaries: 3652

Good finds: Knock Down the House, Bill Nye: Science Guy, The Legend of Cocaine Island

Historical documentaries: 5349

Good finds: World War II in Colour, Prosecuting Evil, Conspiracies, JFK: The Making of a President

Crime documentaries: 9875

Good finds: Making a Murderer, Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Military documentaries: 4006

Good finds: The Russian Revolution, Hiroshima

Sports documentaries: 180

Good finds: The Carter Effect, The Short Game, Resurface, Zion

Music and concert documentaries: 90361

Good finds: Homecoming, Amy, John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky, Gaga: Five Foot Two

Horror movies

When it comes to fright night, there are of course all kinds of ways to go. Whether it’s Halloween or just a spooky Sunday evening, Netflix codes can be your guide to all different types of scares.

Vampire horror movies: 75804

Good find: He Never Died

Satanic stories: 6998

Good find: The Babysitter

Teen screams: 52147

Good finds: Zombieland, Scary Movie 2, Scream, Truth or Dare

Supernatural horror movies: 42023

Good finds: Death Note, The Ritual, Insidious, Poltergeist

Romantic movies

Searching for a romantic movie means something different to everybody. You might want to laugh, you might want to cry, you might want to sing and dance—the options are almost endless.

Romantic comedies: 5475

Good finds: Always Be My Maybe, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Someone Great, Mamma Mia!, Just Friends, The Ugly Truth

Quirky romance: 36103

Good finds: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Ibiza

Steamy romance: 35800

Good finds: Blue is the Warmest Color, Sleeping With Other People

Romantic dramas: 1255

Good finds: Her, The Spectacular Now, The Theory of Everything, P.S. I Love You, The Graduate, Blue Valentine

Romantic favorites: 502675

Good finds: Set It Up, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, She’s Out of My League, Music and Lyrics, Zach and Miri Make a Porno, Emma

Action and adventure movies

Yes, there is no shortage of Marvel movies and TV shows available on Netflix. Have you been able to find them all? These codes divide up the different kinds of action and adventure films to highlight exactly what you need.

Spy action and adventure: 10702

Good finds: Austin Powers: Goldmember, Erased, xXx

Military action and adventure: 2125

Good finds: The Hurt Locker, Black Hawk Down, Outlaw King

Crime action and adventure: 9584

Good finds: The Fast and the Furious, Bonnie and Clyde, American Heist

Comic book and superhero movies: 10118

Good finds: Black Panther, Infinity War, The Dark Knight, Hellboy

Comedies

Now that you know how to find romantic comedies, there’s still a world of laughter waiting to be seen.

Slapstick comedies: 10256

Good finds: The Waterboy, RV, Christmas With the Cranks

Stand-up comedy specials: 11559

Good finds: Wanda Sykes: Not Normal, Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable, John Mulaney: New in Town, Kevin Hart: Irresponsible, Hannah Gadsby: Nanette

Mockumentaries: 26

Good finds: Trailer Park Boys, American Vandal, Borderline

Teen comedies: 3519

Good finds: The Perfect Date, The Edge of Seventeen, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Heathers, What a Girl Wants

Dramas

Tearjerkers, family tension and realistic fiction are at your fingertips with the secret Netflix drama codes.

Biographical dramas: 3179

Good finds: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, The Dirt, The Imitation Game, Julie & Julia, The King’s Speech

LGBT dramas: 500

Good finds: Moonlight, Alex Strangelove, Carol, Milk

Dramas based on books: 4961

Good finds: Bird Box, No Country for Old Men, Room

Sports dramas: 7243

Good finds: Miracle, Across the Line, 42: The True Story of a Sports Legend, Secretariat, High Flying Bird

Political dramas: 6616

Good finds: All the President’s Men, Lincoln, W.

Musicals

Thankfully, for theater nerds and music lovers alike, there’s a special Netflix code exclusively for musical movies.

Musical movies: 13335

Good finds: Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Sweeney Todd, Across the Universe, Phantom of the Opera

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Write to Rachel E. Greenspan at rachel.greenspan@time.com