Netflix fans think they've discovered controversial origin of iconic 'tudum' sound

It’s a Friday night and you load up Netflix, ready to sit down and binge the newest show and forgot about the week you’ve had.

Whether it be the new Robert De Niro thriller, a true crime series based on a lying cancer influencer, or the new documentary about Gabby Petito, it’s a universal experience.

You click on the show you want and are hit with the iconic ‘tudum’ sound that the streamer has adopted as such a core part of their strategy that they have a website named after it.

Have you ever wondered where it came from? Did they just randomly come up with the noise one day?

Well, someone on Twitter has come across where they think the noise came from, and it is a controversial origin if true.

The House of Cards theory

One Netflix viewer posted the following on Twitter: “It’s so funny that Netflix now claims a different, brand safe origin for their 'tudum' sound to distance themselves from Kevin Spacey/House of Cards despite it clearly being a slightly modified version of how Season 2 end.”

They then posted the below video of Kevin Spacey hitting the table in the Oval Office twice, which sounds not at all dissimilar to the ‘tudum’ noise.

Fans were shocked, with one posting: “Holy sh*t, never knew this”, and another saying: “Yeah, it’s hilarious how they’re rewriting history when the connection is so obvious. The House of Cards ending 'knock' is literally the blueprint for tudum!”

What have Netflix said about the sound?

While Netflix has never outright addressed it being from House of Cards due to the controversy surrounding Spacey, in which he has been accused of sexual misconduct by 15 different people, they have offered their own origin.

The streamer’s Vice President of product Todd Yellin says he worked alongside Lon Bender, an award winning sound editor to create the sound.

They wanted something which could introduce shows and films, and so ‘tudum’ was born.

Todd Yellin (Frederick M Brown via Getty Images)

Kevin Spacey, who recently found himself in hot water over allegations made by his L.A. Confidential co-star Guy Pearce, was sacked from the final season of House of Cards following allegations made by Anthony Rapp.

Rapp claimed that Spacey had made sexual advances on him when he was 14 years old.

Spacey denied this and won the civil case Rapp started against him, but this led to 15 more serious allegations of sexual misconduct, which the actor also denies.

The actor agrees with those on Twitter, and believes the tudum sound is inspired by him.

He said in 2023: “You know what that is? [bangs coffee table twice] Boom, boom. According to your research, my influence is felt every time every customer opens the app.”

LADbible has contacted Netflix for a comment.