There's a Way to Sort by Year on Netflix, and It Will Change Your World

It's no secret that Netflix's sorting tools aren't the most intuitive. For a time, it was even difficult to find their original content, unless it was plastered across the front page. Well folks, I'm about to enlighten you with one tool you didn't even know you had: the ability to sort titles by year. It's easy — I promise.

OK, so you're on the Netflix homepage. Maybe it looks like this:

But you don't want to watch A Series of Unfortunate Events. Maybe you're in the mood for a dramatic thriller from the early '90s, perhaps starring Ethan Hawke. (Totally random example, not informed by personal preference.)

You're going to go to the top panel and click a category; TV shows, movies, originals, recently added, whatever. For the sake of this example, I'm going to hit movies, and sort the genre to thrillers.

Ugh, so many options! Popular on Netflix? Trending now? Independent? Where am I most likely to get my Hawke fix?! Here's where the hack comes in. See those icons on the top right, below your user icon? Click the four dots.

Voilà! Select "Year Released," and it's a whole new world. And what do you know? All the way at the bottom, nestled between 1995's graphic masterpiece Seven and 1992's Oscar winner The Crying Game is the 1993 Hawke classic, Alive.

Mission actually accomplished.