
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to Marie Claire. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
When you're looking for something to watch on Netflix, certain things can just draw you in—and not just movie posters featuring Colin Firth. Netflix has cracked the code to figure out what images you'll click on, so you get sucked in quickly for a daylong binge-watching session.
Nick Nelson, Netflix's global manager of creative services, detailed the research in a company blog post. "Broadly, we know that if you don't capture a member's attention within 90 seconds, that member will likely lose interest and move onto another activity," he wrote. When you browse the site, you spend 82% of your time looking at artwork, rather than reading titles or descriptions. So if Netflix doesn't give you photos that look cool, you'll likely just close the tab and check Facebook again instead.
Armed with that information, Netflix figured out exactly what gets users to click on a photo, and the results are a fascinating look at what makes us tick. If an image features a person, that person should be showing a complex emotion, not simply happiness or sadness. They illustrated that with promos for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; the winner had Kimmy and Titus reacting to something in an inscrutable way.
Photos showing villains or controversial characters are also more clicky, as are images featuring three people or less. When it comes to Orange Is the New Black, a tiny thumbnail with a giant ensemble didn't do as well as a thumbnail featuring Piper alone. And these trends can differ from country to country; people in Germany clicked on a more artsy photo for Sense8, while U.S. viewers preferred a photo of one of the main characters.
So if you suddenly see Jessica Jones advertised with Kilgrave mysteriously smirking at you, now you know why.
Follow Marie Claire on Instagram for the latest celeb news, pretty pics, funny stuff, and an insider POV.
Marie Claire Newsletter
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

Megan Friedman is the former managing editor of the Newsroom at Hearst. She's worked at NBC and Time, and is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Selena Gomez’s Fresh-Faced Selfie Radiates Self-Love
She’s letting her natural skin and hair shine.
By Sophia Rivka Vilensky
-
Princess Kate Is Absolutely Nailing the Business Casual Look This Week
Pantsuits everywhere!
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
24 Hours With Naomi Osaka
The tennis star on her new beauty routine after welcoming her baby, easing back into tennis, and her self-care ritual.
By Brooke Knappenberger
-
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ 2023: Everything We Know
Cue up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise."
By Andrea Park
-
Who Is Gerry Turner, the ‘Golden Bachelor’?
The Indiana native is the first senior citizen to join Bachelor Nation.
By Andrea Park
-
‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know
The cast and crew are pausing the hit show in support of the writers' strike.
By Andrea Park
-
Kim Cattrall Didn't See or Speak to Her Costars When Filming 'And Just Like That' Cameo
That's some type of commitment.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
The 50 Best K-Dramas You'll Be Completely Hooked On
Wait, how is it already 2 a.m.?
By Quinci LeGardye
-
Selena Gomez Revealed Meryl Streep Is Joining 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 3
Fans are losing it.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Sophia Brown on Joining the World of ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’
The actress opens up about the “surreal process” of playing the Lark in the Netflix fantasy prequel.
By Quinci LeGardye
-
'Ginny & Georgia' Season 2: Everything We Know
Netflix owes us answers after that ending.
By Zoe Guy