Plex finally backtracks: users rejoice as lists return

After a tumultuous 2025 that saw Plex overhaul its platform with a deeply unpopular social focus, the company is finally delivering on user requests—and the response is palpable. The return of lists, initially lost in the shuffle of a radical redesign, marks a significant shift in Plex’s strategy, signaling a belated acknowledgement of user dissatisfaction.

The 2025 debacle: a social experiment gone wrong

The shift to a heavily social experience last year proved to be a misstep. Long-time Plex users found themselves grappling with a fundamentally altered interface and a diminished core functionality. The outcry was widespread, and the subsequent months were characterized by a frustrating lack of responsiveness from Plex regarding the missing features, particularly the ability to access playlists on mobile devices.

But now, Plex has unveiled “Lists,” a new section that, in a move that can only be described as characteristically Plex, adds yet another layer of complexity to content organization. Alongside the existing Playlists and Watchlists, users now have three nearly identical tools to manage their media. The company’s own documentation, a comparative chart attempting to delineate the nuances between these three features, only underscores the inherent confusion.

What’s New with Lists? The most immediate benefit is the ability to access and manage lists on mobile devices—a feature sorely missed since 2025. What sets Lists apart, according to Plex, is its greater flexibility. It allows the creation of unified lists containing a mix of TV series, movies, and even individual episodes, and crucially, enables easy sharing—a capability absent from the other organizational tools. This is a considerable upgrade, offering users a more cohesive and collaborative viewing experience.

Beyond simple organization, the Lists feature boasts robust editing capabilities. Users can create, update, reorder, duplicate, and modify lists with ease. The duplication feature, in particular, is surprisingly intelligent, streamlining the process of creating similar lists. And, of course, users can control the visibility of their lists, keeping them private if desired.

The user interface has also been refined. Lists can be started from any content item, or through the user’s profile, or even from the Watchlist on the main program page. The rollout is comprehensive, encompassing the web version, mobile app, and Roku devices.

While the introduction of Lists may seem convoluted—a solution layered on top of existing functionality rather than a streamlined overhaul—the reality is that it delivers on a fundamental user request. It’s a pragmatic, if somewhat awkward, victory for the Plex community.

The return of this functionality signals a welcome shift. Plex's belated course correction shows that even the most ambitious redesigns can be derailed by ignoring the core needs of its user base. The platform is, at long last, getting back to basics, and that’s a development worth celebrating.