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You Can Never Pick an Episode, So Netflix Might Want to Do It for You With a Random Shuffle Option

Photo: NBC

Tell your roommate and/or significant other to sit back and relax. According to new reports, Netflix is hoping to step up and take over their responsibilities, which include grabbing the remote out of your hand and picking a damn episode already. The streaming platform is reportedly testing a new shuffle feature, which will select a TV episode at random. “We are testing the ability for members to play a random episode from different TV series on the Android mobile app,” a Netflix rep said in a statement Friday. “These tests typically vary in length of time and by region, and may not become permanent.”

In case the fact this is even a possibility doesn’t suggest Netflix knows the intimate details of your viewing habits, the shows it’s testing the feature on should confirm it. The Office, New Girl, Our Planet, and Arrested Development are part of the experiment, among others. If you log into Netflix and see a row titled “Play a Random Episode,” then great news, you’re a part of the study. The question is: Do you, the user, feel drawn to the idea of a random-play button? Or would you rather maintain a feeling of personal control over picking the episode where Michael Scott leaves Dunder Mifflin, as crying yourself to sleep has sort of become your preferred way of doing it?

Netflix Reportedly Experimenting With a Random Play Option