Netflix is quietly rolling out a new TV interface, replacing static thumbnails with interactive, expanding panels that respond the instant your remote hovers over them.
Rather than treating each title as a frozen poster, Netflix’s trial design brings your cursor’s focus to life, enlarging the artwork and revealing key details about the movie.
On the current interface, hovering over a title autoplays its trailer and displays metadata in a banner at the top of the screen. In the test build, all of that information—synopsis, release year, episode count and genre—appears directly beneath the expanding tile. And if you linger a moment longer, the tile itself will play a short, muted preview clip.
We often see members doing gymnastics with their eyes as they’re scanning the home experience, explains Pat Flemming, Netflix’s senior director of product. We wanted to simplify that search so you can immediately tell if a title is worth your time.
Alongside the revamped thumbnails, Netflix is ditching its slide‑out menu in favor of a minimalist header bar.
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Instead of hunting through nested categories on the left, you’ll find a row of icons at the top—Search, Home, Shows, Movies, and My Netflix. Want to jump back? A tap of the back button on your remote returns you to the menu, no awkward scrolling required.
Some legacy options, like “New & Popular,” “Categories,” and “My List,” have been folded into fewer choices, though “Categories” remains accessible under Search.
Meanwhile, “My Netflix”—first introduced on mobile—now lands front and center, offering personalized recommendations and quick links to your recent and saved titles.
Preparing for live events and sports
Netflix’s move into live events makes the timing of its new homepage redesign feel more reasonable. Late last year, it streamed the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match live, pulling in tens of millions of viewers. On Christmas Day, it aired its first live NFL games as part of a new multi-year deal. And starting January 2025, WWE’s Monday Night Raw officially joined the platform through an exclusive global partnership.
For now, the updated homepage is only visible to a small group of subscribers streaming on smart TVs and other set‑top devices. But if the experiment gains traction, Netflix hopes to extend it to its broader audience over the coming months and quarters.
In the meantime, keep an eye on your next Netflix session—you might find your favorite titles much more engaging before you even click “Play.”
