Throw a Netflix Party to Make Social Isolation More Interesting
Netflix and chill? How about Netflix and party instead? Netflix now allows you to throw a viewing party with your friends - no matter where they are.
For those of you who don’t want Netflix and chill, you now have another option: Netflix and party. The streaming giant has reacted to the world being put on lockdown by launching the Netflix Party feature where you can invite your friends to watch shows with you synchronized playback and a live chat.
Why watch your favorite shows alone? Throw a Netflix Party and invite as many friends as you want so that you can all enjoy synchronized playback. You’ll all be on exactly the same page, ensuring you can all react to the juiciest parts of the show together in the live chat.
Netflix parties are the new night out
Some say that social isolation from coronavirus will change the way we behave forever, and they might be right - but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Companies like Netflix and their kin have been forced to explore innovative ways to make their services more social, which will make them better overall.
Most of us are locked away from loved ones right now, and while facetime apps like Zoom have made group communication a little easier during lockdown the craving to simply spend some time with friends and family is still there - and growing by the day.
Throwing a Netflix party allows you to sit back in a lazy slump while snacking on chips and nattering with your pals about what’s on TV. For all the ways we can connect with our loved ones online, nothing replaces those unmemorable evenings spent huddled together in the living room watching a good movie.
How to launch a Netflix Party
The new Netflix Party add-on is exclusive to Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers and can be used by anyone with a Netflix account. To use it, you simply have to sign in to your Netflix account via Google Chrome, then select something to watch, and press the NP (Netflix Party) icon.
This will make you the host of your new Netflix Party. Now you can copy the URL in the pop-up box and send it to anyone you want to join the party over Facebook or any other messenger platform.
A chat box will appear on the right-hand side of the screen, allowing you to discuss what you’re watching with your friends, laugh at those magical moments of comedy, or speculate who you think the first person to die in a horror flick will be.
Use Netflix Party to support long-distance relationships
Rekindle your long-distance relationships with a Netflix Party this evening and bring some normality back into these strange and unfamiliar times. The Netflix Party extension for Google Chrome is there to allow you to get back to those simpler times with your friends and family and social isolation a little less… isolating.
Best shows to watch in Netflix parties right now
So you’ve installed the Netflix PArty add-on to Chrome. POWER! Now you need something decent to watch with your mates - or they’ll think you’re lame. So, here are some top suggestions for shows to watch on your first Netflix Party.
Ozark: If you haven’t seen Ozark yet, then now is the time. The show is centered around a money launderer for a Mexican drug cartel who is forced to leave his home in Chicago and relocate to the Ozarks - a bunch of lakes in the American Midwest.
BoJack Horseman: Following the story of a washed-up horse who was famous for starring in a sitcom in the early 1990s, BoJack Horseman is a dark and twisted - and at times hilarious - animated show for over 18s. If you’re into something a little more ‘out there’ then this is a must-watch.
Better Call Saul: From the makers of Breaking Bad comes the story of a criminal lawyer who is trying to make his way up the ladder in the practice of law. Saul Goodman seems to be destined to serve humanity’s darker and more criminal side - whether he likes it or not.