Netflix is Hosting Podcasts Now—Here’s What You Need To Know

Remember the good ol’ days when talk shows were playing on repeat on your mom’s CRTV? Well, Netflix is trying to revive that by adding podcasts to its content library.

I’m a loyal podcast listener. I’m also an avid Netflix watcher. So imagine my surprise when I opened Netflix last month to see one of my favorite podcasts, Murder With My Husband, plastered across the home page.

On January 11, 2026, Netflix held its first LIVE podcast with sportscaster Bill Simmons to ring in the new era of podcast video streaming. Now, Netflix users can access some of their go-to favorite — and new — podcasts with their subscription.

What does this mean? Why Netflix and podcasts?

I’ll walk you through how to find these podcasts, what is changing, and why.

The term can be a bit confusing since it actually refers to multiple things. So, here’s your cheat sheet. Netflix podcasts offer two different avenues:

• Companion podcasts: Netflix-produced podcasts, covering current TV shows that you can stream off-platform on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other leading audio and video platforms.
  • Examples: “Bridgerton: The Official Podcast,” “Skip Intro”
• Video podcasts: Episodes you can stream on Netflix, just like any other series. While the video is exclusive to Netflix, you can still catch the audio-only versions on your favorite podcast app.
  • Examples: “My Favorite Murder,” “The Breakfast Club,” “The Pete Davidson Show”

Many popular, established podcasts have moved their video content from YouTube to Netflix. You can find these titles the same way you find every other show or movie on Netflix, just search for them! You’ll see a variety of titles as well as a button to access the genre as a whole, where you can view all available podcasts.

Note: Some Netflix apps are having issues pulling up the “Podcast” category. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, double-check that you have the latest version of the Netflix app.

The fastest way to find the category is to simply search “podcasts” in your search bar, and this will open the full list of available podcast genres. Once you’re here, you can browse the categorized rows of podcasts you may like, including the following:

• Sports commentary
• True crime
• Educational content
• Conspiracy theories

Netflix podcasts are formatted just like its TV shows, allowing users to navigate by seasons and view descriptions, run times, and thumbnails before selecting an episode. While this makes for easy navigation, you definitely have to be in watch mode, since you won’t be able to have it running in the background while you navigate to something else.

To listen in the background while you go about your day, you'll still want to stick to the off-platform versions on Apple or Spotify.

I navigated the podcast category on mobile, desktop, and TV, finding that mobile was the smoothest experience, followed by desktop. Mobile allowed me to see more categories, view this week’s new episodes, and even gave me a “daily check-in” of podcasts dropped within the last 24 hours.

The standout feature here is that Netflix is finally making its own official podcasts. Right now, these include companion podcasts, exclusive interviews, and behind-the-scenes content tied to Netflix titles.

With the release of the latest “Bridgerton: Season 4,” Netflix released its companion podcast, “Bridgerton: The Official Podcast,” designed to be viewed or listened to in tandem with their latest episodes for a deep dive into the series.

It’s nice that Netflix isn’t keeping these podcasts only in video format; you can also listen to them while you clean or make your morning commute by tuning in on audio-only platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

A few of the newest Netflix-made titles include the following:

• “The Pete Davidson Show”
• “Bridgerton: The Official Podcast”
• “Skip Intro”
• “The White House with Michael Irvin”

I’m no movie superfan, but I’ll admit I got swept up in the “Skip Intro” podcast after catching its episode interviewing the lead female actress in “Frankenstein” (2025), Mia Goth. One episode quickly turned into six, and soon enough, I had spent an entire Saturday morning listening to actor interviews. I’ve got to hand it to them … Netflix might just have made the ultimate move for video streaming services.

With the shift moving podcasts further from audio-only and onto screens (think of YouTube and TikTok), Netflix is claiming the space they dominate: video. It’s a system that already works — I’m a YouTube podcast viewer, myself — and Netflix’s pivot fits the bill.

Everything ‘90s is new again, and Netflix has found a way to bring that specific nostalgia into the streaming world. Talk shows used to rule the cable television scene, but died off as streaming became more popular. Podcasts brought back that background-friendly energy, but they’ve spent years evolving back toward video, trading audio-only feeds for studio sets and microphones built to be seen.

Of course, this will come with a bit of adjustment; there are no more comment sections, and background audio now becomes screen time. For some viewers, that’s great! For others, it might cause a disruption to their podcast-listening experience.

This change may revolutionize the way we listen to podcasts, for better or for worse. Instead of listening as you work, run, or clean, you may find yourself having more of a talk-show experience as you sit in front of your TV with a cup of coffee.

Is this change good? Is it bad? Really, that’s up to the viewer. But one thing is for sure: The line between 'podcast' and 'television' has never been thinner.