Netflix - how do you choose what to watch?

How did (do) you decide which broadcast series to watch? I bet the analogous technique will work for streaming shows.

Personally, I look at the descriptions and put the shows that seem likely into my wish list. (I would make a 1P for them, but we all know that is a non-starter.) When I have the time I watch the first of the series and either make it all the way through or drop it. I do the equivalent for broadcast, but in that case the recording is on my TiVo. (That is if the shows data didn't get mucked up by the unique RoVi data mangling process.)

 

By your above criteria I suggest you simply stop watching anything. The shows on Netflix and Amazon are in general no better nor worse than ones you find on traditional networks. Some are even new series' of network shows that have been dropped by their originators.

But if you are done being disingenuous, you can find information in the same kinds of places I find info about traditional networks. The newspaper (gasp) entertainment columns, Advertisements, and the Netflix and Amazon web sites.

 

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Are you rating titles you watch, including titles you've viewed prior to subscribing to Netflix?

I ask because Netflix is really good at predicting what the viewer will enjoy if you take the time to let them know what you like & dislike. Back in the earlier days there would be a "taste preference" type page on the Netflix website where you could rapidly rate many titles as well as select your favorite genres which ultimately would influence what titles you saw on your streaming devices. I don't think those pages exist anymore, now it's just up to rating titles on the site or your device. If you were to launch my Netflix profile vs my wife's profile you would see many different titles shown as recommendations because they know I like sci-fi, horror and martial arts where as my wife enjoys entirely different genres. It's not as simple as genre, they only (usually) show titles within our preferred genres that they think we would rate between 3 and 5 stars.

Maybe look for sites like these:
What’s new on Netflix and what’s leaving in February 2017
Netflix - instantwatcher - The Ultimate Guide for Streaming

 

Go in and get your hands dirty, try some things. Ratings are opinions not facts. Don't let the internet think for you. BE Bold !
Try it, you'll like it.

 

I subscribe to the New York Times "Watching" e-newsletter which sends emails 2 or 3 times a week with recommendations/reviews of primarily streaming shows, but some broadcast and rentals as well. You can also just go to their Watching web page if you don't want emails.

 

The personalized star ratings work great, there is probably a 90% chance I will like a show with a rating of 4.7 or above. I star rate each show I watch and use a pc to log into Netflix. Many times with show lists, on the right hand side there is a sorting option. Using the rating sort it is easy to add good shows to My List.

 

For recently added titles and for an overall search across providers (that tivo no longer provides), I like the site JustWatch. As for titles that are going away soon, playon has a site that is updated a few times a month.

www.justwatch.com
Record these Netflix titles before they leave. Watch offline.