Inside Netflix House

Netflix House Philadelphia opened to the public in November. The more than 100,00- square-feet, permanent but ever-changing entertainment venue lets fans of the streaming platform service interact with their favorite Netflix stories beyond the screen. Located in the King of Prussia shopping center, Netflix House is free to explore and features a variety of complimentary and paid activities, games and immersive experiences, as well as a restaurant, a shop, photo opportunities and more.  

 

 

An Interactive Housewarming 

 

To-date, Netflix has launched more than 40 unique experiences and pop-ups that have serviced 10 million-plus fans in 300 cities around the world. This is their first permanent structure, however. Netflix House Philadelphia is part of the company’s plan to let fans get closer to their favorite shows on the streaming platform. Greg Lombardo, vice president, experiences, Netflix, spoke to License Global about the vision behind the streaming platform’s newest unique experience.  

 

“With Netflix House, we realized that for over two decades, fans have been welcoming us into their homes – and it was about time we welcomed them into ours,” says Lombardo. “Netflix House is an entertainment venue where fans can immerse themselves in the stories they love through a variety of ways, whether it’s grabbing a bite to eat with a dish inspired by ‘Bridgerton’ shopping for exclusive merchandise for a loved one or taking in an hour-plus long featured experience where you can walk the halls of Nevermore or go on a journey with the Straw Hats. What we’re trying to do is create a rich variety of experiences for our fans so they can fall more in love with the stories they love and discover new stories to love.”  

 

Interactive experiences specific to Netflix House Philadelphia include “Wednesday: Eve of the Outcasts,” where Wednesday Addams takes over the festival from roommate Enid Sinclair. Visitors can play Wednesday’s favorite games like Piranha Pursuit and Wheel of Doom and wander through familiar spaces including Wednesday and Enid’s dorm, Principal Weems’ office and the biology lab. Each visitor can follow a mysterious trail by texting clues back and forth with Thing to uncover secrets hidden throughout the experience.  

 

At “One Piece: Quest for the Devil Fruit,” an hour-long interactive journey set in the East Blue, visitors can assemble their own pirate crew to find the mysterious Devil Fruit. Players will face off against villains, solve puzzles and navigate through iconic locations brought to life from the live-action series, including the Marine base, Alvida’s hideout, Arlong Park and Buggy’s tent.  

 

Additional activations include Top 9 Mini Golf, which offers nine holes of gamified mini golf connected to a live leaderboard, allowing for more fun and competitive play. Each hole is themed to Netflix series and events, including “Is It Cake?,” “Stranger Things,” “Squid Game,” “Love is Blind,” “Floor is Lava” and more. Netflix Virtuals lets fans play as the main character inside the worlds of Netflix shows and movies with immersive VR games from Sandbox VR, including “Stranger Things,” “Squid Game” and “Rebel Moon.” Inside TUDUM Theater, fans can experience Netflix shows and movies on the big screen with special screenings including “KPop Demon Hunters” sing-alongs, “In Your Dreams” and more. The theater will also host screenings of live sports, including “WWE Raw” and NFL games, as well as trivia nights, seasonal activities and surprise fan events.  

 

 

Versatile Performers  

 

What makes Netflix House stand out from other location-based experiences is the ability to be fluid with its stories and IP inside the space.   

 

“The great thing about Netflix is that when you tune in at home, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a big variety of stories from around the world to enjoy,” says Lombardo. “That discoverability and choice are at the heart of Netflix House as well. We’ve created an environment where the stories will change. Things will change throughout the year: our featured experiences, our menu at Netflix BITES and the product offering at retail. Everything across from the atrium to the mall side will eventually evolve. That gives fans another opportunity to return and discover something new to love. Whether you have 15 minutes or three hours, if you’re a fan of entertainment, we want to make sure that you find something to love at Netflix House.”  

 

Inside the Netflix Shop, there is exclusive Netflix House merchandise from “One Piece,” “Bridgerton,” Ms. Rachel and city-centric merchandise like a NetPHLix sweatshirt. There is also dedicated merchandise for – and some props directly from the set of – “Frankenstein,” which was just released on the streaming platform on Nov. 7, is a testament to Netflix’s “surprise-and-delight” approach for its viewers.     

 

 

“In a way, part of this job is following fans,” says Lombardo. “What do the fans love? What are they watching? What are they talking about? How do we get after that and give them more and deliver on that promise? It’s no different in Netflix Shop. The teams have done a remarkable job of coming up with products around ‘Frankenstein.’”   

 

One of the properties featured throughout Netflix House Philadelphia is “KPop Demon Hunters,” perhaps the biggest surprise hit of the year. Lombardo and his team ensured that the animated sensation was included in the launch.   

 

“It was a great problem to have,” admits Lombardo. “’KPop Demon Hunters’ came out recently and became a massive success. The fandom for that film is incredible. We were well underway to opening here, and we thought, there’s no way we can’t bring ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ into Netflix House. So, we were able to pivot quickly. The benefit of Netflix House is that it has been conceived from the get-go to be a space that can be refreshed. Now, if you had asked me prior to ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ if I thought I was going to be refreshing the space before we opened, I would have said no. I would have thought after was fine. But we were so happy to have the opportunity to do that. You’ll see it sprinkled throughout Netflix House in a variety of ways, including a photo opp and on the menu of Netflix BITES. We’re very excited about fans coming in and finding those ‘KPop Demon Hunter’ moments.”  

 

 

TV-Inspired Food at Netflix BITES 

 

Netflix BITES is the full-service dining experience inside Netflix House, where guests can step into their favorite Netflix stories with a food and drink menu inspired by several of Netflix’s series and films. Guests can order via kiosk or QR code for dishes and beverages (the Hellfire Club sandwich, anyone?) surrounded by neon signs with niche reference to classic Netflix series including “Orange is the New Black” and “I Think You Should Leave.” 

 

This month, a second Netfilx House will open in Dallas Galleria, where fans will have immersive features with “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things” and Netflix RePLAY, an arcade room. In 2027, Netflix House will open in Las Vegas at the BLVD shopping complex. What all three will have in common is Netflix BITES’ Plot Twist. Like the Netflix House merchandise that is exclusive to the city, the Plot Twist is a dish that is popular in the regions.  

 

“That local flavor is so important to us,” says Lombardo. “It’s called Netflix House ... we’re neighbors. We want you to come over all the time. It’s your home away from home.”

 

With fans buying branded apparel, accessories, toys and more at Netflix House will sales inform or influence Netflix’s broader merchandising and brand extension strategies in the future?  

 

“It’s always a possibility,” says Lombardo. “Having a brick-and-mortar is incredibly valuable to the consumer product team. We partner very closely with those teams to make sure we have a rich variety of items available to fans when they shop at Netflix House. That would continue to be a great mix of exclusive-only product available at Netflix House as well as best-of product that’s out there with our partners around the world.” 

 

As reported by License Global earlier this year, Netflix House Dallas opened in December. 

 

 

Stage Presence

 

While both Netflix Houses are grand in space, the streaming platform has brought its signature storytelling to intimate theaters. “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” made its theater debut in London’s West End in 2023 before heading to New York City’s Broadway in April 2025. Written by Kate Trefry based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers (creators of “Stranger Things”) and playwright Jack Thorne, the play is a prequel to the streaming series. “The First Shadow” is set in the late 1950s in Hawkins, Ind., and reveals the origin story of Henry Creel/Vecna with appearances from the younger versions of Joyce Maldonado, Jim Hopper Jr. and Bob Newby. The story also features the backstory of Creel’s trip to Dimension X and meetings with Dr. Martin Brenner.

 

Since its debut, the play has won major theater awards, earning both Laurence Olivier Awards in the U.K. and Tony Awards in the U.S.  

 

On Dec. 19, actor Jamie Campbell Bower (who plays Henry Creel/Vecna in the series) surprised a sold-out audience at the Marquis Theater in NYC when he appeared onstage for the final scene, reprising his role as Creel. Afterwards, Campbell Bower joined the cast, including his stage counterpart Louis McCartney, who plays the younger Creel in “The First Shadow,” at the stage door to meet fans.