Netflix test option to play episodes randomly

Netflix is ​​testing a Random Episode option to watch a random episode from a series. That writes Android Police based on a reader’s tip. As far as we know, the feature only works in the Android app.

According to Android Police, the feature works in the app’s Home page as well as in the video player. On the homepage, the function is listed between the categories of movies and TV series. There comes an additional category that says Play a Popular Episode, where Netflix randomly picks an episode from a TV series. In the video player, the function works as a separate button, in addition to the Episodes and Audio & Subtitles functions. There, users have to press Random Episode, after which a random episode from the TV series will be chosen.

At the moment it is unknown how a series gets into the Play a Popular Episode category. For example, a series like Stranger Things seems less practical for the function because episodes in this series can hardly be watched separately. A series like Black Mirror with standalone stories seems better suited for the position.

Android Police got the tip from a reader, who was running Android app version v7.6.0 build 19 34157. According to the site, it is currently unclear whether this is a small-scale experiment or whether the function will be made available to more users at a later date.