Netflix's incredibly niche,personalised subgenreshave long captivated movie nerds, from "Steamy Crime Movies from the 1970s" to "Period Pieces About Royalty Based on Real Life".
The genres, based on a complicated algorithm that uses reams of data about users' viewing habits to recommend exactly what a particular user is into, number in the tens of thousands.
When Netflix thinks you'll like sentimental Spanish-language dramas or gritty tearjerkers, they'll show up on your home screen, but aside from that, they're not easy to find.
But a simple web address trick shows how you can find any one of these genres for films and TV shows simply by switching a number in a URL.
How do Netflix secret codes work?
If you're logged into Netflix, enter www.netflix.com/browse/genre/XXXX into your browser's toolbar to bring up one of the thousands of genres in Netflix's library.
"XXXX" is a series of digits, which identify a genre of film - 1089is "Mind-bending Movies", for example; while354is "Movies Starring Matthew McConaughey".
But not all numbers will result in a subgenre, and given Netflix's ever-changing algorithms, they might move around every now and then. There may also be regional differences, meaning that some codes don't work in particular areas.
Codes for the main genres areavailable here, and at the foot of the list is a link to a list of even more for you to browse.
List of Netflix codes by alternate genres
Action & Adventure (1365)
- Asian Action Movies (77232)
- Classic Action & Adventure (46576)
- Action Comedies (43040)
- Action Thrillers (43048)
- Adventures (7442)
- Comic Book and Superhero Movies (10118)
- Westerns (7700)
- Spy Action & Adventure (10702)
- Crime Action & Adventure (9584)
- Martial Arts Movies (8985)
- Military Action & Adventure (2125)
Anime (7424)
- Adult Animation (11881)
- Anime Action (2653)
- Anime Comedies (9302)
- Anime Dramas (452)
- Anime Features (3063)
- Anime Sci-Fi (2729)
- Anime Horror (10695)
- Anime Fantasy (11146)
- Anime Series (6721)
Children & Family Movies (783)
- Education & guidance (10659)
- Disney (67673)
- Movies based on children's books (10056)
- Family Features (51056)
- TV Cartoons (11177)
- Kids' TV (27346)
- Kids Music (52843)
- Animal Tales (5507)
Classic Movies (31574)
Comedies (6548)
- Dark Comedies (869)
- Late Night Comedies (1402)
- Mockumentaries (26)
- Political Comedies (2700)
- Screwball Comedies (9702)
- Sports Comedies (5286)
- Stand-up Comedy (11559)
- Teen Comedies (3519)
- Satires (4922)
- Romantic Comedies (5475)
- Slapstick Comedies (10256)
Cult Movies (7627)
- B-Horror Movies (8195)
- Campy Movies (1252)
- Cult Horror Movies (10944)
- Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy (4734)
- Cult Comedies (9434)
Documentaries (6839)
- Biographical Documentaries (3652)
- Crime Documentaries (9875)
- Historical Documentaries (5349)
- Military Documentaries (4006)
- Sports Documentaries (180)
- Music & Concert Documentaries (90361)
- Travel & Adventure Documentaries (1159)
- Political Documentaries (7018)
- Science & Nature Documentaries (2595)
- Social & Cultural Documentaries (3675)
Dramas (5763)
- Biographical Dramas (3179)
- Classic Dramas (29809)
- Crime Dramas (6889)
- Dramas based on Books (4961)
- Dramas based on real life (3653)
- Tearjerkers (6384)
- Sports Dramas (7243)
- LGBTQ Dramas (500)
- Independent Dramas (384)
- Teen Dramas (9299)
- Military Dramas (11)
- Period Pieces (12123)
- Political Dramas (6616)
- Romantic Dramas (1255)
- Showbiz Dramas (5012)
- Social Issue Dramas (3947)
Faith & Spirituality (26835)
Foreign Films
- African Movies (3761)
- Australian Movies (5230)
- Belgian Movies (262)
- Korean Movies (5685)
- Latin American Movies (1613)
- Middle Eastern Movies (5875)
- New Zealand Movies (63782)
- Russian (11567)
- Scandinavian Movies (9292)
- Southeast Asian Movies (9196)
- Spanish Movies (58741)
- Greek Movies (61115)
- German Movies (58886)
- French Movies (58807)
- Eastern European Movies (5254)
- Dutch Movies (10606)
- Irish Movies (58750)
- Japanese Movies (10398)
- Italian Movies (8221)
- Indian Movies (10463)
- Chinese Movies (3960)
- British Movies (10757)
LGBTQ Movies (5977)
- LGBTQ Comedies (7120)
- LGBTQ Dramas (500)
- Romantic LGBTQ Movies (3329)
- LGBTQ Documentaries (4720)
- LGBTQ TV Shows (65263)
Horror Movies (8711)
- B-Horror Movies (8195)
- Creature Features (6895)
- Cult Horror Movies (10944)
- Deep Sea Horror Movies (45028)
- Horror Comedy (89585)
- Monster Movies (947)
- Slasher and Serial Killer Movies (8646)
- Supernatural Horror Movies (42023)
- Teen Screams (52147)
- Vampire Horror Movies (75804)
- Werewolf Horror Movies (75930)
- Zombie Horror Movies (75405)
- Satanic Stories (6998)
Independent Movies (7077)
- Experimental Movies (11079)
- Independent Action & Adventure (11804)
- Independent Thrillers (3269)
- Romantic Independent Movies (9916)
- Independent Comedies (4195)
- Independent Dramas (384)
Music (1701)
- Kids Music (52843)
- Latin Music (10741)
- World Music Concerts (2856)
- Musicals (13335)
- Classic Musicals (32392)
- Disney Musicals (59433)
- Showbiz Musicals (13573)
- Stage Musicals (55774)
Romantic Movies (8883)
- Romantic Favorites (502675)
- Quirky Romance (36103)
- Romantic Independent Movies (9916)
- Romantic Dramas (1255)
- Steamy Romantic Movies (35800)
- Classic Romantic Movies (31273)
- Romantic Comedies (5475)
Sci-Fi & Fantasy (1492)
- Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy (1568)
- Alien Sci-Fi (3327)
- Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy (47147)
- Cult Sci-Fi & Fantasy (4734)
- Fantasy Movies (9744)
- Sci-Fi Adventure (6926)
- Sci-Fi Dramas (3916)
- Sci-Fi Horror Movies (1694)
- Sci-Fi Thrillers (11014)
Sports Movies (4370)
- Sports Comedies (5286)
- Sports Documentaries (180)
- Sports Dramas (7243)
- Baseball Movies (12339)
- Boxing Movies (12443)
- Martial Arts, Boxing & Wrestling (6695)
- Basketball Movies (12762)
- Sports & Fitness (9327)
Thrillers (8933)
- Action Thrillers (43048)
- Classic Thrillers (46588)
- Crime Thrillers (10499)
- Independent Thrillers (3269)
- Gangster Movies (31851)
- Psychological Thrillers (5505)
- Political Thrillers (10504)
- Mysteries (9994)
- Sci-Fi Thrillers (11014)
- Spy Thrillers (9147)
- Steamy Thrillers (972)
- Supernatural Thrillers (11140)
TV Series (83)
- British TV Shows (52117)
- Classic TV Shows (46553)
- Crime TV Shows (26146)
- Cult TV Shows (74652)
- Food & Travel TV (72436)
- Kids' TV (27346)
- Korean TV Shows (67879)
- Miniseries (4814)
- Military TV Shows (25804)
- Science & Nature TV (52780)
- TV Action & Adventure (10673)
- TV Comedies (10375)
- TV Documentaries (10105)
- TV Dramas (11714)
- TV Horror (83059)
- TV Mysteries (4366)
- TV Sci-Fi & Fantasy (1372)
- Reality TV (9833)
- Teen TV Shows (60951)
There's an even more comprehensive list here, if you want to find films created by your preferred director or featuring your favourite actor.
This article is kept updated with the latest information.
