Netflix Rolls Out Post-Play Feature

Netflix is making some changes to the user experience that you may not notice until you get to the end of the next episode of whatever show you’re currently catching up on. The post-play feature is rolling out, and it’s going to pop up on your screen whether you want it or not.

The new Netflix post-play feature automatically minimizes the credits on whatever you have just finished watching, be it a movie or television show, and then offers up some options for what you might like to watch next. If you’re watching a series, it would be the next episode in line. If you do nothing, it will send you right into that next episode (or whatever the next suggested program is) after 15 seconds. This is intended to make it easier to enjoy a marathon of your favorite show without interruption.

There’s no way to turn the feature off as far as I can tell, meaning if you head to the kitchen for a snack while the credits are rolling, a new episode could start before you get back. It also means my kids will be able to start up that next episode of Go, Diego, Go before I can throw myself in front of the screen and demand that they go breathe some fresh air instead. It also means those who like to read the credits will have to back out of the post-play option after it starts up to go back to the credits.

Post-play is an interesting feature that will make my recent desire to find the time to re-watch That 70s Show from the start a little easier, but I am not sure it was implemented quite right. Making it an option that can be turned on and off would make it an even better tool; hopefully they’ll make the tweak in the future.