Netflix’s tendency to throw up the same old films and shows that it thinks you’ll enjoy is one of the (albeit few) downsides of what is a pretty great platform. So much of the site’s content isn’t immediately visible, and a study from last year revealed we actually spend 18 minutes per day just deciding what to stream.

There is, however, a little-known way of accessing thousands of ‘hidden’ shows and films, so fans of specific niches like ‘Deep Sea Horror Movies’ or ‘Steamy Thrillers’ can get their fix.

Netflix advises users to put the following URL into their browser: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/INSERTNUMBER

Then the desired number simply has to be inserted. You can see some of the categories below, or peruse the entire list here.

Action & Adventure

1365 = Action & Adventure
77232 = Asian Action Movies
46576 = Classic Action & Adventure
43040 = Action Comedies
43048 = Action Thrillers
8985 = Martial Arts Movies
2125 = Military Action & Adventure
7442 = Adventures
10118 = Comic Book and Superhero Movies
7700 = Westerns
10702 = Spy Action & Adventure
9584 = Crime Action & Adventure
11828 = Foreign Action & Adventure

Children & Family

783 = Children & Family Movies
6796 = Movies for ages 0 to 2
6218 = Movies for ages 2 to 4
5455 = Movies for ages 5 to 7
561 = Movies for ages 8 to 10
6962 = Movies for ages 11 to 12
10659 = Education for Kids
67673 = Disney
10056 = Movies based on children’s books
51056 = Family Features
11177 = TV Cartoons
27346 = Kids’ TV
52843 = Kids Music
5507 = Animal Tales

Classic Movies

31574 = Classic Movies
31694 = Classic Comedies
29809 = Classic Dramas
46588 = Classic Thrillers
7687 = Film Noir
48744 = Classic War Movies
52858 = Epics
32473 = Classic Foreign Movies
53310 = Silent Movies
47465 = Classic Westerns

Comedies

6548 = Comedies
869 = Dark Comedies
4426 = Foreign Comedies
1402 = Late Night Comedies
26 = Mockumentaries
2700 = Political Comedies
9702 = Screwball Comedies
5286 = Sports Comedies
11559 = Stand-up Comedy
3519 = Teen Comedies
4922 = Satires
5475 = Romantic Comedies
10256 = Slapstick Comedies
7627 = Cult Movies
8195 = B-Horror Movies
1252 = Campy Movies
10944 = Cult Horror Movies
4734 = Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy
9434 = Cult Comedies
4195 = Independent Comedies

Documentaries

6839 = Documentaries
3652 = Biographical Documentaries
9875 = Crime Documentaries
5161 = Foreign Documentaries
5349 = Historical Documentaries
4006 = Military Documentaries
180 = Sports Documentaries
90361 = Music & Concert Documentaries
1159 = Travel & Adventure Documentaries
7018 = Political Documentaries
10005 = Religious Documentaries
2595 = Science & Nature Documentaries
3675 = Social & Cultural Documentaries

Horror Movies

8711 = Horror Movies
8195 = B-Horror Movies
6895 = Creature Features
10944 = Cult Horror Movies
45028 = Deep Sea Horror Movies
8654 = Foreign Horror Movies
89585 = Horror Comedy
947 = Monster Movies
8646 = Slasher and Serial Killer Movies
42023 = Supernatural Horror Movies
52147 = Teen Screams
75804 = Vampire Horror Movies
75930 = Werewolf Horror Movies
75405 = Zombie Horror Movies
6998 = Satanic Stories
7077 = Independent Movies
11079 = Experimental Movies
11804 = Independent Action & Adventure
3269 = Independent Thrillers
9916 = Romantic Independent Movies

Musicals

1701 = Music
52843 = Kids Music
1105 = Country & Western/Folk
10271 = Jazz & Easy Listening
10741 = Latin Music
9472 = Urban & Dance Concerts
2856 = World Music Concerts
3278 = Rock & Pop Concerts
13335 = Musicals
32392 = Classic Musicals
59433 = Disney Musicals
13573 = Showbiz Musicals
55774 = Stage Musicals

Romance

8883 = Romantic Movies
502675 = Romantic Favorites
36103 = Quirky Romance
9916 = Romantic Independent Movies
7153 = Romantic Foreign Movies
1255 = Romantic Dramas
35800 = Steamy Romantic Movies
31273 = Classic Romantic Movies
5475 = Romantic Comedies

Sci-fi & Fantasy

1492 = Sci-Fi & Fantasy
1568 = Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy
3327 = Alien Sci-Fi
47147 = Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy
4734 = Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy
9744 = Fantasy Movies
6926 = Sci-Fi Adventure
3916 = Sci-Fi Dramas
1694 = Sci-Fi Horror Movies
11014 = Sci-Fi Thrillers
6485 = Foreign Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Thrillers

8933 = Thrillers
43048 = Action Thrillers
46588 = Classic Thrillers
10499 = Crime Thrillers
10306 = Foreign Thrillers
3269 = Independent Thrillers
31851 = Gangster Movies
5505 = Psychological Thrillers
10504 = Political Thrillers
9994 = Mysteries
11014 = Sci-Fi Thrillers
9147 = Spy Thrillers
972 = Steamy Thrillers
11140 = Supernatural Thrillers

TV Shows

83 = TV Shows
52117 = British TV Shows
46553 = Classic TV Shows
26146 = Crime TV Shows
74652 = Cult TV Shows
72436 = Food & Travel TV
27346 = Kids’ TV
67879 = Korean TV Shows
4814 = Miniseries
25804 = Military TV Shows
52780 = Science & Nature TV
10673 = TV Action & Adventure
10375 = TV Comedies
10105 = TV Documentaries
11714 = TV Dramas
83059 = TV Horror
4366 = TV Mysteries
1372 = TV Sci-Fi & Fantasy
9833 = Reality TV
60951 = Teen TV Shows

Netflix recently revealed that most films and shows this year were streamed on 1 January, so this hack sure is worth knowing about for the imminent holiday period.

See a full reveal of 2017’s most binged shows here.

Image: Charles Deluvio on Unsplash