Just hearing the word summer calls up the season’s classic pastimes: cheering at a baseball game, grilling at a barbecue, getting sandy at the beach, and taking a refreshing dip in the pool. Those joys are like a popsicle on a July evening: sweet and special, but they don’t last forever.
And because summer is fleeting, you’ll want to spend that time wisely — including how you use those precious summer hours to watch something at home or on the go. Luckily, we’ve got a few tips to help you catch that perfect streaming wave. From ways to watch your favorite movies and shows while traveling to reminders for the latest releases to setting your kids up for summer vacation viewing, these tips will help you cool off on a blazing hot day. Read on for plenty of recommendations for what to watch, and the perfect treat to enjoy while doing it (because what says “summer movie night” better than Netflix-branded popcorn?).
Plan your streaming schedule with summer-themed collections. From nostalgic gems to action-packed blockbusters, swoony romances, and family-friendly fare, whatever “summer streaming” means to you can be found in our curated selection of category pages. Bookmark these collections — each channeling specific summer vibes — and enjoy during those long, lazy days between Memorial Day and Labor Day
Don’t forget the snacks! Because a movie night and popcorn go together like a hot dog and a bun, ice cream and sprinkles, or a beach day and a lounge chair. That’s why Netflix and Popcorn Indiana have teamed up to debut Now Popping, a new ready-to-eat popcorn line available to snack on now. Look for flavors like Cult Classic Cheddar Kettle and Swoonworthy Cinnamon Kettle at Walmart stores nationwide.
Sign out of your account from anywhere. Did you catch up on Bridgerton or watch Hit Man from your hotel room, then forget to sign out before checkout? You can head to the Manage Access and Devices page and take care of it from there. If only settling your room service bill was that easy.
Download movies and shows to watch while you’re in transit. Add this to your pre-travel routine, right after packing your toothbrush and agonizing over whether your suitcase will zip with all the extra options you brought “just in case” — download a few things to watch while you’re offline and in transit.
If you want to make sure you’ll always have something at the ready, turn on Smart Downloads, which can either automatically download the next episodes of whatever you’re watching or let you choose from a selection of options we think you’ll like. And for those of you keeping an eye on how much data you’re using with all this movie and TV viewing, you can find out more about controlling usage settings here.
Use the Remind Me function and never miss a premiere. There’s a way to mark your calendar, so to speak, so you won’t miss a movie debut, a season premiere, or the start of your soon-to-be new favorite show. All you need to do is look for the Coming Soon row on your TV homepage or within the New & Hot section on the mobile app, to see what film or series is waiting in the wings, then hit the Remind Me button to get a notification when it’s time to hit play.
Glen Davis, a product designer working on the Streaming Discovery team — which works on improving all the ways Netflix subscribers find and enjoy what they’re watching — says the team first tested the Remind Me tool back in 2018 and launched it to the public about six months later. “What we wanted to do is just make it very simple: If you see something that you’re really interested in, tell us that you’re interested in that, and we’ll do the rest to help remind you when the title is actually available to watch.”
Play Netflix Games on the go. If you’re waiting out a flight delay or just need something to enjoy while on the go, check out the selection of games you have access to through your Netflix subscription. There are more than 90 to choose from, including Too Hot to Handle: Love Is a Game, which has all the sexy signatures of the reality series it’s based on.
Create a profile for your kids — and keep an eye on what they’re watching. This one is a twofold win — you can manage what kinds of movies, shows, and games your kids are watching and playing by creating individual profiles, and their watch-on-repeat favorites won’t mess with your own viewing history. To set one up, go to your Manage Profiles page, select Add Profile and give it a name. If you want to use the Netflix Kids experience for that profile, select Kid.
If you want to see exactly what they’ve been streaming, head over to the Account page, open the parental controls settings for the profile you want to see, then check out its viewing activity.
Set maturity ratings and blocked titles. Setting a maturity rating means that profile will only see shows, movies, and games at or below that rating. But if you want to get even more specific, you can block specific TV shows or movies from individual profiles. Head here for instructions on how to block or unblock a specific title.
Add a PIN for your own profile. If you want kids to stick to their own profile pages and not use yours, there’s a way to lock it down. Go to Account, select your profile, then go down to Profile Lock and follow instructions for creating a PIN.
Subscribe to Netflix Family magazine. For some non-screen fun, flip through the pages of this magazine full of games, stories, and activities for kids of all ages, featuring their favorite Netflix characters. There’s also printable activities on the mag’s website that you can narrow down by age range, show, or occasion. (Like, say … summer!)
