Meet your new best binge-watching friend
Feeling guilty about all the hours you've sunk into marathoning House of Cards and Breaking Bad on Netflix? The streaming service is testing a new feature that would slightly lessen those first world regrets.
The latest update out of Netflix promises to change the binge-watching game by introducing a “Skip Intro” button during opening credits sequences. Click it and voila - you're transported straight to the action, and spared the pain of getting a theme tune stuck in your head. The button works with shows that begin with a title sequence as well as those that include one after a cold open.
For now the feature is only available on certain shows and only in the web browser. Netflix has stayed largely silent about the update, other than a spokeswoman telling The Verge that, “We perform hundreds of tests every year to help make the Netflix member experience better.”
The discovery of the 'Skip Intro' button comes shortly after another major announcement from Netflix. Last week, the company revealed plans to ditch its five star rating system in favour of a simple thumbs up/thumbs down scheme. Reaction was mixed, but in an A/B testing phase, Netflix found that the thumbs system garnered 200 percent more ratings than the stars.
Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt also recently announced that the company plans to explore creating mobile-specific cuts of its original movies and TV shows, to better service the growing audience of Netflix users who watch on-the-go.
As for what you should watch now that binging is better than ever, we humbly suggest indulging in the 50 most binge-worthy shows on Netflix right now.