Lifehack: Set your Netflix to English

How simple can life be, right? This is once again proven with this simplest little trick that allows you to expand your Netflix offerings in one go by 61%. More choice stress, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the growing selection on Netflix. Especially when you don't have to pay extra for it and when you get that larger selection with a few simple clicks.

Here's the thing: most of us (myself included, until this morning) have our language settings on Netflix set to Dutch. When you change that to English, you immediately have about 61% more in terms of series and movies. I immediately took the test, and yes, it’s true. The series Victorious and Sam & Cat, for example, from Nickelodeon. Okay, maybe not the series that fit perfectly in our age category, but I can still secretly enjoy watching them. Oh, and the series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I have never seen anything of but seems to be quite popular.

Of course, you can also change your language to for example French, Spanish or Italian (be careful with Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese; you still need to be able to find everything) if you're looking for series or movies in that language. Just a small side note: the Dutch subtitles can be a bit of an issue. They are usually not available when you select a different language. But it's a pretty good solution if you want to learn another language. Much more effective and fun than a DuoLingo app.

So if you were hooked on Nickelodeon back in the day, you can take advantage of this. It's nice that you can change your language at any moment, so when I'm done with my Spanish Netflix ‘lesson’, I just switch it back to Dutch.

Very good.

UPDATE

Netflix wouldn't be Netflix if they didn't come up with a good explanation for our confusion. In a statement, our favorite streamer says:

“The Netflix offering is constantly changing because content is added and removed weekly. Literally counting content is therefore of little use. Netflix strives to ensure that the offering always aligns as well as possible with the Dutch viewer. All Netflix Original content is subtitled in Dutch and is therefore available to anyone with a Dutch language profile.

For many users, it is not pleasant to receive a movie or series without Dutch voices or subtitles. This applies, for example, to children watching Avatar (the age rating for Avatar is 6+). Therefore, movies and series with Dutch subtitles or Dutch voices are linked to a Dutch language profile.

For some English-language content, there are no Dutch subs or dubs available. The fact that these are not displayed with a Dutch language profile has nothing to do with rights, but purely because Netflix assumes that the content you want to see when your account is set to Dutch has Dutch subs and/or dubs available. This is a choice in user experience and not to hide content.

About Avatar specifically
Currently, only Dutch subs and dubs for season 1 of Avatar are available. Seasons 2 and 3 will follow within a few weeks.”

Well, that's clear again.

Source: Streaming guide