A few weeks ago I finished the first season of my newest favorite show out of Scandinavia (Dicte). I knew there was a second season but it was nowhere to be found on Netflix and my days of dorm room torrenting have become a distant memory. I quickly discovered that Netflix tailors their programing by region. I’m guessing this has more to do with distribution agreements than anticipated customer tastes.
It turns out Dicte is available to Canadians. If only there was a way to make Netflix think I was in Canada…
Step 1 – Download Hola!
Open Google Chrome and search for “Hola! Chrome Extension”.
Step 2 – Go to Netflix.com and click the Hola! symbol on your chrome toolbar (it looks like a falling, smiling ball of fire). Click “Browsing From” and choose the country you want to view from.
Three reasons this is cool:
-You can watch Netflix anywhere in the world (it’s blocked in some countries)
-Other countries have movies and shows that aren’t available in the US (I noticed Canada has The Imitation Game)
-Canadian Netflix has more options for French dubbing/subtitles on their programing (good for those of us learning new languages)
Hola! is an unlimited VPN so you can use it as much as you want. Sometimes the connection will drop and you need to refresh your browser (happens maybe once every 45 minutes and takes 3-5 seconds to fix). Netflix does store some cookies on your browser and sometimes will get confused. Clear your browser cache and restart your browser. You have to login to Netflix again but you can still pick your country of choice. I’m currently using a UK ip address to watch the elusive first season of the infamous Swedish series Wallander. The original version of The Bridge is also on UK Netflix (about the huge bridge connecting Copenhagen and Malmö). Look around and see what you find.