I Hacked My Dad’s Netflix—Here’s What I Found

Logan’s Run | Max

Starting out the list strong with some weird ’70s science fiction—a quintessential dad move. According to his Max profile, my dad is 11 minutes and 51 seconds into a rewatch of this movie.

I know for a fact this isn’t his first time watching it, or even the second. He sat me down to watch it at some point towards the beginning of the pandemic, but I’m not sure I could tell you much about the plot except that it was sort of like The Giver, but with more guns.

Eraserhead | Max

Another weird ’70s movie, although I could probably tell you even less about this one. My dad is 24 minutes and 35 seconds into it, but I’d bet money guessing that it wasn’t his first time watching this one, either. Maybe dads are just really into rewatching things.

Anyway, Eraserhead? I haven’t seen this one, but I’ve seen Twin Peaks and that one episode of Riverdale that kept insisting it was “Lynchian,” so like, I get the idea. Also, I watch a lot of My Hero Academia, if that helps.

David Byrne’s American Utopia | Max

Rounding out my dad’s Max currently–watching list is this Broadway show, apparently directed by the Spike Lee. This is one of those shows that connects generations—I mean, I’m assuming.

I think I was doing something in another room when he watched this, but I definitely took a break to hang out when “Once in a Lifetime” started playing. What kind of self-respecting internet kid would I be if I didn’t?

Better Call Saul | Netflix

Here’s what I know about Better Call Saul. It’s a spinoff of Breaking Bad, which was a show about drugs and had Aaron Paul in it. Better Call Saul is like that, except Aaron Paul isn’t in it, and it may or may not involve lawyers instead of drugs.

My dad is on season 4, episode 10, which means he still has a whole season to watch before the final one makes its way to Netflix later this year.

You’ll need access to AMC if you want to watch season 6 before then, so check out our Better Call Saul viewer guide if you can’t get enough of the Odenkirk–verse.

Black Summer | Netflix

There’s one thing I know for absolutely certain in this life: dads love zombies. I’d never heard of this show, but Google tells me it’s set in the Z Nation universe. I don’t know what that is either, because if I know a second thing for certain, it’s that I hate zombies. Even the Marvel ones!

But dads can’t get enough of them, and judging by the complete seasons in his watch history, this show has my dad’s seal of approval.

Dark | Netflix

I think I watched approximately twenty minutes of Dark with my dad, but he finished the whole thing. The blurb on Google calls this show “an intricate puzzle filled with twists that includes a web of curious characters,” so it’s giving me Stranger Things vibes if Stranger Things was German and slightly desaturated.

What can we take away from this finding? Dads love a show with subtitles. (He watched a lot of Ragnarok, too.)

The Velvet Underground | Apple TV+

Okay, I admit it: I didn’t actually hack into my dad’s accounts behind his back. Well, I did at first, but I studied enough tech ethics in college to know that releasing someone’s data without consulting them is super sketchy.

So I called my dad up at work and asked him for permission. He said yes, but he also insisted I include at least one artsy documentary. So here you go, dad. Let no one say that my dad isn’t hip.