The COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the mood and the movement control restriction has everyone cooped up at home. However, the time spent at home does not have to be all that bad. The movement control order is set to last until the 31st of March 2020 and that is just 11 days away. That is not too long and there just might be some fun ways to spend time with friends, without actually ever leaving the house.
Netflix Party might just be a solution to pass time effectively by watching your favourite movies and TV shows with anyone you like. It is essentially a chrome extension that can be downloaded to your browser and it will ensure that the videos are in sync for all the people watching. It also has a chat feature, similar to that of Twitch, so that the people watching can interact with one another, during the video. Don’t worry the extension is free and available right here. It is worth noting that this browser extension doesn’t look like it’s officially from Netflix, but they have about 350 patrons on Patreon.
Ideally, it would be amazing to have everyone in the same room watching an amazing TV show or movie and getting excited about seeing the look on your friend’s face. But right now, this is the best we can do and it is not so bad.
Here is how to get Netflix Party
First thing you need to do is download the Chrome extension. You can do that right here. Once it is downloaded, this is what it will look like.
After this, you need to head on over to Netflix and play any TV show or movie of your choice and once you do, the extension will be enabled and it will be red.
You need to click on the start the party button and it will give you a link to share with your friends.
Once you share the link, you just need to wait for your friends to enable their extensions and start watching shows together. The chat bar on the side is also activated.
Make sure the friends that you send the link to also have the extension and that they enable it once they click on the link. After that, the video will be in sync and you get to chat with one another during the course of the episode or movie.
For those who would like some suggestions on TV shows to watch during this period. I would recommend Breaking Bad, it is awesome and definitely on my top ten lists. It is about a chemistry teacher who becomes a methamphetamine cook. It is long and perfect to watch with friends. Mindhunter is fantastic for those who love crime shows, it is just two seasons so you might wanna slow down with the episodes.
On the fun side, there is Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and they are all fun. If you want something to ponder over, Bojack Horseman will remain a true classic albeit sometimes depressing but a testament to character development. Besides this, shows like Mad Men, Peaky Blinders, Orange is the New Black, The Witcher, The Haunting of Hill House, Narcos, are all personal favourites.
However, in all honesty, during this time, I would really suggest Studio Ghibli movies like My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky and many more. They have this ability to induce calmness, and I guess, that is exactly what we need right now. Let me know what you think of these movies and TV shows and what movies or TV shows are you watching right now?
