Netflix experimenting with shuffle option for watching series (original) (raw)
Published on April 20, 2019 12:13PM EDT
Photo: Netflix
Because Netflix has billions of dollars worth of programming on its streaming platform and we’re all still somehow indecisive, the entertainment giant is experimenting with a new way to watch: shuffle.
In a statement provided to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, a rep for Netflix confirmed, “We are testing the ability for members to play a random episode from different TV series on the Android mobile app. These tests typically vary in length of time and by region, and may not become permanent.”
Android Police first reported that the Android app, v7.6.0 build 19 34157, gave certain viewers the option to hit “Random Episode” in the playback control options to shuffle to a random episode in the series they watched.
Shows that offer the shuffle function will appear in a new row called “Play a Random Episode” and, when clicked, does just that. Deadline cites The Office, New Girl, Our Planet, and Arrested Development as some of the shows involved in the experiment.
The shuffle option makes more sense for that certain type of show, like Parks and Recreation and Grey’s Anatomy, the kind of show you play in the background as you play Wordscapes on your phone, the king that compels you to watch it for the 1,000,000th time instead of taking a chance on, say, The Highway Men. Daredevil or Wild Wild Country, not so much.
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