If you’ve ever had difficulties choosing something to watch on Netflix, this potential new feature could be for you.
As first discovered by Android Police, and later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is testing a new random episode button for select users. The test is currently active for some Android users of the Netflix app.
“We are testing the ability for members to play a random episode from different TV series on the Android mobile app,” a Netflix spokeswoman told THR. “These tests typically vary in length of time and by region, and may not become permanent.”
According to the report by the Android Police, the button allows users to “play a popular episode” from a series. There is also a random episode button at the bottom of a video which shuffles to another episode in the same series.
While that feature may be obsolete for series that require you to air episodes in order — we’re thinking of shows like Star Trek Discovery, The Crown, and Better Call Saul — it could prove a new lease of life for sitcoms. With an extensive back catalogue, Friends, The Office, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine could all benefit from a random or popular episode button, to save users time scrolling through episodes season-by-season.
As stated, not all of the features that Netflix tests get adopted and rolled out to all users. It will remain to be seen whether the button proves popular with the select user group and utilized in a future update.
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