The

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

provider,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, performs

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

s on its subscribers. These jokes have included overly detailed categories for films, comic

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

s and two original films composed entirely of footage of food cooking.

Jokes

2013

Netflix added overly detailed

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

to its service, including "Movies Starring

Estelle Getty Estelle Gettleman (née Scher; July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), known professionally as Estelle Getty, was an American actress and comedian best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–92), for which she won ...

and Some Other Guy" (with only the film ''

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot ''Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action black comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty. The film was released in the United States on February 21, 1992. The film rece ...

'' listed), Reality TV About People With No Concept Of Reality, Surreal Ballets Based On A William Shatner Album (with only the film ''

William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet ''William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet'' is a feature-length documentary film about a ballet by Margo Sappington called "Common People", which was set to the music of William Shatner and Ben Folds from their album '' Has Been''.http://www.nashvillecityp ...

''), When You Watch Netflix, It Watches You (featuring videos with eyes on the cover), Movies And TV Shows About Seriously Pissed Off Wives, Movies Featuring An Epic Nicolas Cage Meltdown, Nephrotic Adventures Featuring Very Tiny Children (with only the film '' Chasing the Kidney Stone'' listed), "Movies That Are in English, But Still Require Subtitles" (with '' Snatch'' and ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...

''), and "TV Shows Where Defiantly Crossed Arms Mean Business!" (featuring television shows with cover art showing people with their arms crossed).

2014

Netflix added two "

Netflix originals Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...

" including ''Sizzling Bacon'', a 20-minute feature of bacon cooking, and ''Rotisserie Chicken'', a 73-minute feature of a chicken cooking on a

rotisserie Rotisserie, also known as spit-roasting, is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit – a long solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or roasted in an oven. This metho ...

2015

Netflix created a series of

s, warning users of the "dangers of

binge-watching Binge-watching (also called binge-viewing) is the practice of watching entertainment or informational content for a prolonged time span, usually a single television show. Statistics Binge-watching overlaps with marathon viewing which places mo ...

." Thirteen messages were created, starring actors and actresses from

Netflix original programming Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a film ...

shows, such as Michael Kelly from ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...

'' (telling the viewer to go to work) and

Selenis Leyva Selenis Leyva is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in the Netflix comedy-drama series '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–19), and also starred on the Disney+ comedy-drama series ''Diary of a Future President'' (202 ...

from ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

'' providing a bilingual message (Spanish and English) encouraging the viewer to do their homework. The PSAs would play when the viewer watched two episodes of the same show in a row.

2016

Netflix again added overly detailed genres to its service, but all having something to do with

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...

of ''Full House'' such as "Horror Movies that give John Stamos the Heebie-Jeebies" and "Movies that make John Stamos feel emotions." The next day, the site issued a humorous apology to Stamos in an exclusive video.

2017

On March 31, Netflix added a new featured Netflix Original titled ''Netflix Live''. The show features 48 minutes of comedy actor

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular charact ...

providing commentary on "live crosses" to tediously mundane footage, mostly featuring office settings and appliances. The featured settings were a photocopier, a microwave, a toaster, two people thumb wrestling (who turned out to be

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

and

Shannon Purser Shannon Purser (born June 27, 1997) is an American actress. She made her acting debut as Barb in the Netflix drama series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–2017), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress i ...

), a crossword puzzle, a refrigerator (from the inside with the door closed), a pencil sharpener, an office cubicle, a book of Shakespeare (being read), a driver parallel parking (poorly), nighttime, a puddle, and grass. During each scene, Arnett appears in a box in the bottom-left of the screen giving running commentary. Some of his witticisms were: * (About the copy room) “Everything in here is so organized. Must be a German in this office, huh?” * (As the microwave counted down) “If you listen to Jared Leto, apparently you can get to Mars in 30 seconds. I tell you what will take you one second is getting out of the room if someone puts on a Jared Leto record.” * (About the book) “The only thing worse than 'The Works of Shakespeare' is its index.” * (About the puddle) “That puddle makes me happy because water is the essence of life, I think. If it isn’t, it should be.” * (About the field of grass) “Finally, something more boring than Jason Bateman.” On April 1, the show was marked as "Canceled" in bold letters across the image, with the show's description including an explanation that Netflix overestimated the number of people that liked binge-watching microwaves and that "Dave from analytics" was in trouble.

2018

Netflix released a video starring

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...

and

Lonny Ross Lonny Ross (born 1978) is an American comedy actor and writer. Early life Ross was born in Wantagh, New York. He attended and graduated from Wantagh High School in 1996. Acting career As part of the ensemble on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', he ...

in which Seth signs a contract stating Netflix will now own Seth's mind, body, and soul in order for him to come up with original movie ideas for Netflix. All Netflix has to do in return is air Seth's ''

Hilarity for Charity ''Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity'' is a stand-up comedy special to raise awareness for Alzheimer's disease, that premiered on Netflix on April 6, 2018. Cast * Seth Rogen * Ike Barinholtz * Michael Che * Sacha Baron Cohen * Jeff Goldblum * Tiff ...

'' special.

References

April Fools' Day jokes Internet humor English-language Netflix original programming https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/netflix-april-fools_n_2992287.html?slideshow=true#gallery/289430/0 {{Netflix