Life

This New Netflix Search Engine Lets You Get SUPER Specific About What Kind Of Movie You Want

by Mia Mercado
Courtesy Netflix

A very 2018 problem is having hundreds of Netflix shows and movies at your fingertips and having absolutely no idea what to watch. Thankfully, someone has created a very 2018 solution: a website that makes it easier to find movies on Netflix. If browsing the streaming service’s seemingly endless list of titles has ever frustrated you, you’ll want to bookmark this site.

Flixable is essentially a search engine for Netflix movies. It uses much of the same information as Netflix’s interface, allowing you to search by title, genre, or person associated with the film. However, many are finding Flixable’s interface way easier to navigate. Plus, Flixable has some added sorted methods. Not only can you filter by genre and IMDB rating, you can also sort your results alphabetically and by year released.

The site initially gained attention after creator Ville Salminen shared it on Reddit. Salminen noticed many Redditors complaining about browsing issues similar to problems he had encountered on the streaming service. A recent Reddit post with over 39,000 upvotes touched on some of the biggest issues: “Why doesn’t Netflix have a decent way to browse content? I feel like [I]’m fairly stuck with the 50-100 titles shown to me on the homescreen, why can’t I browse their thousands of titles that they do they have outside of a search bar? [W]hy do I have to know the shows [sic] name to find it?”

“That confirmed my suspicions that there’s still demand for a site like Flixable,” Salminen told Mashable.

Demand is something of an understatement. Not only has Salminen’s post racked up over 92,000 upvotes in about six days, the post’s thread is filled with thousands of comments from Redditors thanking Salminen for answering their Netflix prayers. “Within 1 minute of being on that site I saw movies I had no idea were added that I wanted to see more than the movies Netflix recommends to me,” one Redditor wrote.

Multiple people posted asking/begging Salminen to make a similar site for Amazon and Hulu. That might soon become a reality as Mashable reports Salminen has been in talks with a representative for Hulu about creating a similar browsing site for their service.

Salminen told Mashable that his goal with Flixable was pretty straightforward: “To build a site that would make it easier for Netflix subscribers to choose what to watch on a movie night.” Flixable definitely does that.

Want to know what was recently added, sorted by date? You can do that. Want to see what’s leaving soon? You can do that, too. There’s also page showing the most popular titles on Netflix that day, that week, and that month.

TV shows are also notably easier to navigate on Flixable. In addition to being able to filter your results by genre, you can also sort your results alphabetically, by release date, and when it was added to Netflix. A true godsend for anyone often frustrated by whatever algorithm Netflix uses to recommend you TV shows.

Speaking of very 2018 problems, want to make sure what you’re watching isn’t associated with a known perpetrator of sexual assault or harassment? There’s now a website database for that, too. Rotten Apples allows you to search movies and TV shows and lists any of its actors, writers, directors, or producers who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. The results also link out to a news story sourcing the accusation.

Movie nights are intended to be a time to kick back, relax, and momentarily relieve yourself from the stress of our current world. So, these websites, which make chilling out to a movie that much easier, couldn't come at a better time. Worst case scenario: you don’t find something new to watch and you treat yourself to the entire first season of The Good Place again. It's a win-win.