About This Quiz
When Netflix was founded in 1997, it looked very different than it does today. The internet and streaming media were still in their infancy, so the business started its success story as a mail-order movie-rental service. The concept was really cool — instead of schlepping to the video store to get a movie on DVD or VHS (yes, we had to leave the house to rent movies back in the day), subscribers could receive DVD rentals in the mail. There were no due dates, late fees or shipping costs — your monthly membership included an unlimited number of rentals that you could watch and return at your leisure. It's no wonder the innovative company gave Blockbuster a serious run for its money.
Cut to the late 2000s, when data speeds and bandwidth technology had significantly improved, and Netflix began to offer videos on demand via the internet. DVD sales and rentals began to decline while the service's membership grew, and by 2013, the company reportedly had more than 29 million streaming customers. The rest is home-entertainment history.
If you can't get enough of everything this streaming giant has to offer, we challenge you to prove it with this quiz. You'll be asked to identify the show or movie from its official Netflix description — are you up for the task? Let's find out!
While "Friends" became one the biggest hits in TV history during its 1994 to 2004 run on NBC, the smash sitcom was embraced by a brand-new generation of fans thanks to its availability on Netflix.
This half-hour comedy, which was created by (and stars!) comedian Eugene Levy and his son Daniel, originally aired on the Canadian CBC Television network. It's filmed in Toronto and Ontario, and the majority of the cast is Canadian.
"The Crown" was inspired by the 2006 film "The Queen" and the 2013 play "The Audience," which were both created by screenwriter and playwright Peter Morgan. It follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s until the present day.
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According to Netflix, this Sandra Bullock thriller — which was based on a book of the same name — was watched by a record-breaking 45 million accounts during its first week of release.
A young Dustin Hoffman starred in this 1967 coming-of-age classic about a disillusioned college graduate. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won one for Best Director (Mike Nichols).
Based on a 2007 novel of the same name, this dark teen drama first dropped in March of 2017. It was highly popular and critically acclaimed (though no stranger to controversy for its portrayal of suicide) and went on to run for a total of three seasons.
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Released in December of 2015, this wildly popular Netflix original about the possibly innocent convict Steven Avery dropped a second season in 2018. It's also won four Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.
When "The Good Place" premiered on NBC in the fall of 2016, it was an instant ratings and critical hit. But it became even more popular when Netflix began streaming the show's first two seasons in 2019.
"Stranger Things" became a Netflix phenomenon when it first started streaming in 2016. It has since aired two additional seasons and has a fourth (and final) season currently in the works.
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Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as star-crossed high school sweethearts with a twist, "Heathers" became an instant cult classic when it was released in 1988. It has since spawned an off-Broadway musical.
According to Variety magazine, "Orange Is the New Black" has become Netflix's most-watched original series. It first dropped in 2013 and ran for seven seasons, with its final installment dropping in the summer of 2019.
Based on the U.K. comedy of the same name, "The Office" ran on NBC from 2005 to 2013. It's currently the most-watched TV show on Netflix; however, it's slated to move to a different streaming platform in 2021.
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"Black Panther" was a huge hit when it was released in 2018, smashing box office records and passing the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office sales in just 26 days. According to Forbes magazine, it's the third fastest-grossing movie of all time.
This 1989 threequel starred Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones, Indiana's estranged father. In its opening sequence, the film features the late actor River Phoenix as a 13-year-old Indiana.
"Mad Men" ran on the AMC cable network from 2007 to 2015. The show made stars out of Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss, who both won Emmys for their performances. It also won four Emmys for Best Drama Series during its run.
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Since its release in 1996, "Scream" has become a cult classic. Due in large part to its irreverent, self-referential humor, the movie was credited with reinvigorating the horror genre in the '90s and went on to spawn three sequels, all of which featured original cast members.
"Cheers" ran on NBC from 1982 until 1993. After struggling in the ratings during its first few years, it became one of the network's most popular shows and went on to spend eight of its 11 seasons in the Nielsen top ten.
This highly bingeable true-crime miniseries was ahead of its time when it first premiered on French TV in 2004. After the show gained traction on YouTube and the Sundance channel, Netflix picked up its original episodes and produced three brand-new installments.
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Released in 1980, the cast of this beloved movie is packed with comedy legends, including Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray. Reportedly, Murray improvised the majority of his lines and completed his work in just six days.
Starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as the money-laundering Marty and Wendy Byrde, this popular Emmy-award-winning show began its run in July of 2017 and became the top-streaming show of that summer.
"Black Mirror" first hit the airwaves in 2011 and ran for two seasons on British television. Netflix began airing the show in 2014 and has since produced three new seasons of high-tech terror. The streaming platform also released the groundbreaking interactive film, "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch," in 2018.
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Starring Ellie Kemper as the title character, this Netflix original was specifically created for the former "The Office" actress. It was initially slated to run in primetime on NBC, but Netflix bought it instead.
Released in 1994, "Pulp Fiction" was Tarantino's second film after "Reservoir Dogs." In addition enthralling audiences and earning critical praise, it won the coveted Palme d'Or prize at that year's Cannes Film Festival. It also won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture.
This legendary U.K. sketch show debuted in October of 1969 on the BBC but didn't catch on in the U.S. until five years later when it was aired by the American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
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Arguably one of the best television dramas of all time, "Breaking Bad" aired on AMC from 2008 to 2013. It won a total of 16 Emmy Awards during its run, including Outstanding Drama Series for its final two seasons.
"Wild Wild Country" tells the unbelievable true tale of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his cult of followers, the Rajneeshees. When they took over a small Oregon town in the early 1980s, things got kind of crazy.
Released in 2018, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" is the sequel to the 2015 Marvel hit "Ant-Man." The movie was even more successful than the first film, grossing over $622 million worldwide.
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Released in 1999, "The Sixth Sense" held the record for the highest-grossing thriller until 2017 when it was beaten by the movie "It." The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
"Parks and Recreation" ran for seven seasons on NBC, from 2009 until 2015. It was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards during that time and made stars out of actors Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza.
"GLOW" follows the fictionalized antics of the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, a women's professional wrestling circuit, during the 1980s. It first dropped on Netflix in 2017 and was renewed for a fourth and final season to air in 2020.
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This horror-comedy hybrid stars Drew Barrymore as a suburban mom who turns into a (very human-looking) zombie. Rather than get rid of the matriarch, the Hammond family works together to try and keep her undead tendencies in check.
Based on real-life events, "Mindhunter" follows two agents in the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Along with a skilled psychologist, they develop the technique of criminal profiling by interviewing notorious serial killers.
"Men in Black" came out in 1997 and produced two sequels — "Men in Black II," which was released in 2002, and "Men in Black III," which was released in 2012. It also spawned an animated series in 2001 and a spin-off film, "Men in Black: International," in 2019.
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"Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan wrote, directed and produced this follow-up film, which features Aaron Paul reprising his iconic role as the troubled-but-charming Jesse Pinkman.
Starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, this 1988 drama cleaned up at that year's Academy Awards, earning Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hoffman), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.