The best hidden Netflix gems you can only watch with a VPN

Due to different licensing agreements regionally, we all know what you get on Netflix in one country will differ dramatically from another part of the world. And while I'm updating you on the best Netflix shows and movies only available on Netflix in the US, UK, and beyond, I've come across some real gems lately that you'll only be able to have access to all of if you use a VPN.

Using the best VPN can broaden your Netflix horizons with the ability to dupe your device into thinking it's in another country. This means gaining access to a wider variety of content, with US Netflix differing from Aussie Netflix or French Netflix, and so on. In turn, using a VPN means getting even more from your one Netflix subscription — and avoiding having to subscribe to another service altogether just for the privilege of watching that one movie or show that took your fancy.

From preparing for recent theatrical releases to hunkering down for winter and marathoning a seven season historical fantasy romp, these are some of the hidden gems you'll only be able to watch all of if you use one of the best Netflix VPNs.

How to watch content from overseas using a VPN

In order to access Netflix libraries around the globe, you'll need a VPN up to the task.

Of all the streaming services, Netflix is one of the most fierce with its anti-VPN infrastructure, which means any old VPN won't do. You need one of the best Netflix VPNs in your arsenal.

Once you've signed up and installed on the device you wish to watch Netflix on (most VPNs offer clients for desktop, smartphone, and streaming devices like a Fire Stick), follow these steps to get started streaming overseas content from anywhere.

1. Make sure you're logged into your Netflix account
2. Launch your chosen VPN
3. Select the server you want to use (e.g. for Australian Netflix, connect to a server in Aus)
4. Head to Netflix on your device and start streaming exclusive content

Note that using a VPN to access content that is geo-locked for licensing or copyright reasons most likely goes against your streaming service’s terms of service, meaning if you are caught, your account may be terminated.

The best Netflix hidden gems

Wicked (Australian Netflix)

We've all been afflicted with Ozian mania. With Act 2 — or Wicked: For Good — concluding Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the Broadway show at the tailend of 2025, it was essential I went back to the beginning in preparation.

No need for a Peacock or NOW subscription, all I needed to do was connect to a server based in Australia on my VPN and I could watch Wicked (2024) with my Netflix subscription, returning to before the Yellow Brick Road existed, and Elphaba and Glinda were just two students at Shiz trying to find their inner magic.

Arthur Christmas (French Netflix)

Tis the season and all that, and I was a bit disappointed to find one of my favorite Christms films, Arthur Christmas – alongside The Holiday and Miracle on 34th Street (the 1994 version) – absent from any of my subscriptions at home.

A bit of hopping around from country to country on Netflix via my VPN, though, and I discovered it on France's Netflix library. So picture me virtually holidaying in Paris this year, watching as Arthur once again saves Christmas.

Five Nights at Freddy's (Candian Netflix)

Admittedly, I've not watched it yet and I'm not the biggest horror fan, but the video game movie adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's has earned itself a bit of a cult following since its release in 2023. Plus, there's something appealing about murderous animatronics to me.

On top of that, a second movie has just come out and – in the same vein as Wicked – I need to get appropriately caught up. While you'll need a Peacock subscription in the States, you can get more from your Netflix library by connecting to a server based in Canada and find Five Nights at Freddy's there.

Outlander (US Netflix)

There's no better time than the colder months to hunker down with a boxset and let your life be taken over by the whims of fictional characters – especially when there's a whole lot of drama and romance whisked into the mix.

Outlander fits that bill; a historical fantasy that sees a woman, Claire, travel back in time to the 1700s, ultimately entering into a passionate love affair with a Jacobite rebel, Jamie Fraser. As one does. Outlander is all over the place from country to country in terms of its streaming home, but in the States you can watch all seven seasons on Netflix.

Studio Ghibli (Netflix UK)

Perhaps it doesn't count as a hidden gem when pretty much every Netflix outside of the States has all the Studio Ghibli films. But these films are actual magic, so it's worth tagging on the end here you need only connect to a server in, say, the UK, and you can enjoy a complete library of movies from Studio Ghibli including Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and its most recent release, The Boy and the Heron.