JustWatch: Your ultimate streaming guide in SA

There’s nothing more mortally embarrassing than inviting over that special someone to Cloud Atlas and chill – only to find it’s been removed from Netflix entirely. Scouring the many, many streamers operating in SA for a further ten minutes isn’t great, either. As streamers become more prominent, with many subscribing to two, three or even four at a time, navigating this new world is difficult. But there is a solution. It’s called JustWatch.

JustWatch is one of the handier little services we’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Rather than bombard Google with queries like “Breaking Bad streaming where,” JustWatch collates everything into a single app, making scouring your services for available shows and movies a thing of the past. It takes into account your location and the services you’re currently subscribed to and fine-tunes its recommendations accordingly. It’s also free.

Dont talk…

Take Breaking Bad for example. If you’re one of the seven people yet to watch Walter White’s descent into the criminal underbelly of Albuquerque but still aren’t quite sure where to find it, head over to JustWatch (available on web browsers, as an app on the Android and iOS stores, and even some smart TVs), type in Breaking Bad, and it’ll give you a run down on where the show is streaming. In this case, that’s Netflix.

If you’re just visiting JustWatch for your next watch, that’s also an option. Create an account, load up your current subscriptions and start hitting like and dislike on everything you’ve seen. JustWatch’s algorithm will begin to learn what you’re after and adjust its recommendations accordingly. Unfortunately, JustWatch’s biggest flaw is the complete lack of a Disney+ filter in South Africa. We’re hoping that’ll be changed sooner rather than later.

The pool of existing streamers JustWatch does have is rather large. It’s got all the basics minus the one, including Netflix, Prime Video, Showmax, Apple TV+, and Crunchyroll. Beyond that are the services customers can use to find newly released films for rent or purchase digitally – Google Play Movies and Apple TV.

JustWatch this!

On the base level, that’s all you’ll ever really need from a service like JustWatch. You don’t even need to create an account if you’d rather forego the extra hassle. But if you’re willing to engage a tiny bit further, JustWatch can become part of your routine, suggesting new movies and series, hitting you up with necessary information like the Rotten Tomatoes score, and more. As long as they’re available on your local streamers, of course.

All that’s needed on your part is an account. That’s entirely free of charge, although a JustWatch Pro does exist (because of course it does) that’ll remove any ads floating about the place. That might sound enticing, but it’s worth knowing that in the two or so years JustWatch has lived on our smartphones, the ads haven’t gotten too big for their britches.

One of the handiest features we’ve come across is the ‘new’ list which is exactly what it sounds like. Sort by all 32 active streamers tracked by JustWatch or just stick to what you know, and keep up with the latest additions to the streaming scene. Or you can hit up Discover Daily to see what’s “going viral” or “trending” on the bigger services.

You’ll also be able to keep track of what you have already watched. Just head over to a show’s page – like this one here and add it to your Watchlist. Or, you can use one of the two free lists available to users on the free tier.

These can be whatever tickles your fancy, from a Ghibli-themed list to a place to stick all five (yes, there are five) Die Hard films. We’re not quite sure why you’d want to do that, but that’s not the point. The point is that you can.