Netflix launches a two-thumbs-up rating for content you love

By Trevor Mogg April 11, 2022

If you’re still reeling over Netflix’s decision in 2017 to replace its five-star rating system with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down option, and you wish you could express your likes and dislikes of Netflix’s shows and movies with more than a simple like or dislike, we have some good news for you.

The video streaming giant has just added an extra thumb to its rating system, one that lets you show that you didn’t just like what you just watched, but you loved it.

The addition of a double-thumbs-up will also let Netflix’s algorithms learn more about what you like and really like so it can make more accurate recommendations for your viewing pleasure moving forward.

As you would expect, the new double-thumbs-up option is located next to Netflix’s thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons on your TV and web, as well as on Android and iOS mobile devices, starting on Monday.

“Our current thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons are a good way for you to tell us how you feel about a series or film, and in return, you get a profile that’s better personalized to your taste,” Netflix explained in a post on its website. “However, we’ve learned over time that these feelings can go beyond a simple like or dislike. Providing an additional way to tell us when you’re really into something means a profile with recommendations that better reflect what you enjoy … For example, if you loved Bridgerton, you might see even more shows or films starring the cast or from Shondaland, [the production company that made it].”

When Netflix ditched star-based ratings in 2017, it said the simpler thumbs-up and thumbs-down system had proved popular in testing, with viewers much more likely to actually offer a rating after watching something.

Whether the company gets around to offering a double-thumbs down for content you abandon midway through because it’s so awful seems rather unlikely — after all, that’ll be one thumb short of the old five-star rating system.

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