If, like me, you spent the majority of last year inside your own home with nothing but a Netflix subscription and your own stupid company, you’ve probably exhausted the entire library. No judgement, it happens. But what if I told you it’s not that hard to get your grubby little mitts on the entire American Netflix library?
Accessing overseas Netflix libraries, or other streaming services that aren’t available in Australia is super simple and affordable and will give you hundreds more TV shows and movies to binge-watch while cementing that ass-groove on the couch.
How To Watch American Netflix
Bored in the house and you’re in the house bored? Might I suggest a little American Netflix as a treat?
To access American Netflix (or British, Canadian or any other country), you essentially need to trick your device into thinking you’re actually in that country. To do this, you’ll need a VPN.
What Is A VPN And Why Do I Need It To Watch American Netflix?
A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. Basically, a VPN encrypts your device’s internet usage and sifts it through a middle man in a location of your choosing.
VPNs give you online privacy and anonymity, mask your IP address and leave your computer (relatively) untraceable. No, this is not me encouraging you to commit crimes. If you’re doing any dark web, dodgy stuff, I’m sure the feds can still track you down.
But in addition to giving you internet privacy, a VPN also allows you to use your device as if you’re in another country, which is a bloody gold mine when it comes to content.
Once you’ve got your hands on a VPN, you can access American Netflix, as well as all the other cool shit the US has like Hulu and HBO Max.
However, not all VPNs are created equal, so you’ll need to make sure that the one you use (PureVPN, for example) doesn’t get blocked by Netflix.
There are plenty of VPNs to choose from, but generally speaking, the free ones get blocked so it’s worth doing a bit of research and spending a few bucks per month to get access to that ~international~ range. Honestly, it might even save you some cash on the extra streaming services/movie rentals you pay for right now.
Is Using A VPN Legal?
Using a VPN in Australia is perfectly legal, provided you’re not using it to do illegal activities (see: buying drugs on the dark web).
But although using a VPN *is* legal, streaming services often prohibit the use of them to access their content.
Using a VPN to access Netflix is explicitly against their terms of service, and the company reserves the right to nuke your account forever if you choose to do so. However, they have reportedly never banned someone for using a VPN and likely have bigger issues to deal with than some bloke in Australia who is using a VPN to watch Vanderpump Rules on American Netflix.
So before we go any further, it’s worth noting that this is a violation of the Netflix terms of service and you should do so at your own risk.
I’ve Got A VPN, Now What?
Accessing American Netflix with a VPN is simple, but does take a few steps before you can just log in and enjoy the new content. To watch American Netflix with a VPN, follow these five steps:
- Get a VPN like PureVPN.
- Download and install the VPN extension (i.e. Firefox or Chrome).
- Login to the VPN extension with your credentials.
- Open Netflix and login as normal.
- Enjoy an extensive library full of stuff that we can only dream of here in Australia.
It truly is that simple, even your mum who doesn’t know how to use emojis could work it out.
Can I Access Other Countries’ Netflix?
Depending on your VPN and the servers it gives you access to, you should be free to peruse all public areas of the internet.
This means that you can access basically any country’s Netflix database so… Japanese Netflix and chill anyone?
You can’t actually travel the world but you *can* enjoy the offerings of Brazilian Netflix, which is the next best thing, honestly.
What’s On American Netflix?
The American Netflix library is an absolute treasure trove of things we can’t get our hands on here in Australia.
Wanna binge Arrested Development, Twin Peaks or The Twilight Zone? The world (accessing American Netflix with a VPN) is your oyster, baby. Even The Great British Bake-Off is on there.
But if you’re in the mood for a movie night you won’t be disappointed either, with The Blair Witch Project, Radium Girls and the 1994 Leonardo DiCaprio classic What’s Eating Gilbert Grape all exclusively available on American Netflix.
When it comes to new films, you can usually get your hands on them on one of Australia’s many streaming platforms, but where American Netflix comes in handy is when you want an old school classic like Rain Man, A Clockwork Orange or The Runaway Bride.
Oh, and did I mention they absolutely run circles around our reality TV offerings? You can binge old-school seasons of Survivor, Teen Mom 2 or America’s Next Top Model all available at your fingertips with American Netflix. HUGE.
Other exclusives include:
- The Bachelorette
- Stargate SG-1
- Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath
- Paranorman
- The Muppets
- Okko’s Inn
- All Dogs Go To Heaven
- The Help
- Surviving R. Kelly
- Married At First Sight (US)
- Charmed
- Chappaquiddick
- The Magicians
- Madam Secretary
- NCIS
- Weeds
- Criminal Minds
If you’re happy with good old Aussie Netflix thanks very much and are in need of some recs, head to our list of the best new Netflix series HERE or our roundup of the best Netflix series ever HERE for some bingeing inspiration.
