New Netflix top 10 lists make it much easier to find shows to watch

netflix top 10 update is huge
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Netflix wants to improve your streaming experience even more by adding a new, daily Top 10 feature that lists the most popular movies and TV shows in your country. 

In a blog post, the company announced it is rolling out a new section on its home screen, starting today. The Top 10 row will be updated daily with the most popular programs in the subscriber’s country. But what makes a Netflix show “popular”? We’ll get to that in a minute.

Netflix will further break it down with lists of top 10 shows and top 10 movies on their respective tabs. And programs that make it into the Top 10 get a special badge that displays wherever they appear on Netflix.

The streaming service began experimenting with the top 10 feature in the UK and Mexico last year.

“For those who want to watch what others are watching, this may make choosing titles even easier,” CEO Reed Hastings told investors in April 2019.

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Both Netflix originals and licensed content will be eligible to make it into the Top 10 list. But the larger question remains around how the service tabulates popularity and viewership. While unveiling info about its most-watched programs of 2019, Netflix said that it counted any account that chose to watch two minutes or more of a title during the first 28 days post-release.

So, last year, the Adam Sandler comedy Murder Mystery was the No. 1 most-watched movie. But that counted any Netflix user that watched two minutes of it and then shut it off. Similarly, it’s hard to tell if the 76 million accounts that “chose to watch” The Witcher really spent any significant time checking out the fantasy series.

Also, will the introduction of a Top 10 row make the Trending section obsolete? And how was Trending determined, if not by viewership?

Netflix also recently added an option for viewers to turn off autoplay on previews. These upgrades to its user experience indicate that Netflix is taking seriously the influx of competitors like Disney Plus that are vying to become the best streaming service.

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.