Netflix has tons of awesome shows on its platform, but nothing really compares to Netflix Originals – the content created by Netflix itself. We’re talking about hit series like Narcos, Orange Is the New Black, Lilyhammer, BoJack Horseman. The list can go and on, really.

It’s no secret that not all shows and movies on Netflix are available worldwide. But what about Netflix Originals? Netflix owns the copyright, so they’re available everywhere where the service is, right?

Things aren’t that simple, unfortunately. Some Netflix Originals are available worldwide while others aren’t. If you use the StreamCatcher Netflix tool from ProPrivacy, you can see that Lilyhammer is only available in some countries.

So what’s going on?

We’ll take a look at that in this article, and we’ll also show you how to easily unblock any Netflix Original you want from anywhere in the world.

Why Aren’t All Netflix Originals Available Worldwide?

Netflix actually has a pretty helpful FAQ page discussing this. Basically, it all comes down to whether or not Netflix has global licensing rights for a specific show.

If they do, great – they can freely stream the content everywhere where their service is available.

But if they don’t have the licensing rights for a region, they can’t legally broadcast the content there. If they do, they might get sued by the streaming sites and/or TV networks that own those rights.

Why wouldn’t Netflix have the licensing rights to their own shows, though?

Simple – because they sold them to third parties. Netflix likely did that when their service wasn’t available worldwide.

For example, when they launched Orange Is the New Black, the platform wasn’t available in Indonesia. So they sold the rights for that region to a local TV network or streaming site. Even though Netflix is now available there, they don’t have the licensing rights for that show. So they can’t stream it in that country.

On their FAQ page, Netflix mentions they “do not yet have global licensing” for some Netflix Originals. So that implies they’ll try to get those rights in the future. It’s hard to say when because it might take a long time until Netflix can buy back those rights.

How Does Netflix Control Which Shows You Can and Can’t Watch?

They use geo-blocking to limit your access based on your geo-location. If Netflix sees you’re sending connection requests from Italy, for instance, the site will redirect you to the Italian content library.

How does Netflix know where you’re from?

Your IP address tells it everything it needs to know – what country and city you are from, who your ISP is, and what your ZIP code is. And your IP is always present in your connection requests, so Netflix can easily see it when you visit the site.

How to Unblock Netflix Originals Right Now

Not being able to enjoy Netflix Originals just because you’re from the “wrong” part of the world is annoying, right?

Well, we have good news – you can easily get around Netflix’s geo-blocking. And you don’t need to do anything complicated. All you need is a VPN – an online tool that spoofs your geo-location by hiding your IP address from Netflix. If you want to know how the VPN does that, here’s a quick look at the process:

• You download and install a VPN app, and use it to connect to a VPN server. The server has to be in the same country where the content you want to unblock is available.
• The app and server establish a secure connection.
• When you visit Netflix, your connection requests go through the VPN server (like so: Device à ISP Network à VPN Server à Netflix).
• Because the VPN server acts as a middleman between you and Netflix, the site will think the server is the source of your connection requests.
• Due to that, Netflix will only see the VPN server’s IP address. So your device’s IP remains “hidden” from the site.

It sounds like a complex process, but it will barely be noticeable for you. On your end, you’ll just pick the VPN server in the app, hit “connect,” wait 1-2 seconds at most, and be able to start unblocking any content you want on Netflix.

And that’s not all a VPN can do. The tool also encrypts your traffic end-to-end, making it unreadable. So your ISP can’t see you’re using Netflix anymore. Without that information, they can’t throttle your bandwidth when you spend eat up too much data binging the shows and movies on the site.

How to Pick the Right Netflix VPN

You obviously need cross-platform compatible apps and unlimited bandwidth, right?

True, those features are a must, but they take a backseat to one important thing – the ability to actually unblock Netflix.

Wait, what? Didn’t we just say VPNs are a great way to unblock Netflix Originals?

They are, but here’s the thing – not all VPNs can unblock Netflix. The site is actually really good at detecting VPN IP addresses. If that happens, it will return the Netflix proxy error.

To avoid detection, a VPN has to be able to refresh its IP addresses very often (basically, lease new IPs from the data center they’re renting servers from). Unfortunately, not all VPN providers can do that regularly.

Don’t worry, though – we’ll help you find a Netflix VPN that actually works. And no, you won’t have to spend hours testing different VPN services.

All you have to do is use the StreamCatcher Netflix tool. Besides telling you what countries certain Netflix shows and movies are available in, it also recommends the best Netflix VPNs on the market. And those suggestions are based on data from ProPrivacy, one of the biggest VPN review sites on the web.

Did You Ever Have to Unblock Netflix Originals?

If yes, which ones? And how did you do it? Did you use a VPN like we suggested, or did you try other unblocking methods?

Please tell us about your experience in the comments below or on social media.