For decades, HBO has been the place to go for prestige television. And by prestige, we mean shows that drop F-bombs without fear of advertiser boycotts. Recently, the series finale of the dysfunctional family drama Succession featured 235 expletives. But how does the Roy clan stack up to other profane shows?
To find out, language learning site Preply analyzed a number of other series finales from highly-regarded programs. To compile the swears, Preply pulled 50 of IMDb’s top user-rated series and then examined scripts for their final episodes. Here’s how it breaks down.
1 | Succession | "With Open Eyes" | 235 |
2 | The Wire | "-30-" | 127 |
3 | Orange Is the New Black | "Here's Where We Get Off" | 88 |
4 | The Thick of It | "4.7" | 87 |
5 | Peaky Blinders | "Lock and Key" | 71 |
6 | Veep | "Veep" | 52 |
7 | The Sopranos | "Made in America" | 51 |
8 | Peep Show | "Are We Going to Be Alright?" | 49 |
9 | 13 Reasons Why | "Graduation" | 45 |
10 | The Shield | "Family Meeting" | 40 |
Succession does indeed take first place, virtually doubling the profanity count of second-ranked The Wire and its series finale, “-30-.” HBO has four of the top 10, with just one series that originated on basic cable—FX’s The Shield—making its way onto the list.
Preply also looked at the shows with the most swear words per minute—because why not?
1 | The Thick of It | "4.7" | 3 |
2 | Succession | "With Open Eyes" | 2.67 |
3 | Peep Show | "Are We Going to Be Alright?" | 2.04 |
4 | The Wire | "-30-" | 1.41 |
5 | Veep | "Veep" | 1.13 |
6 | Eastbound and Down | "Chapter 29" | 1.13 |
7 | Broad City | "Broad City" | 1.04 |
8 | Orange Is the New Black | "Here's Where We Get Off" | 0.98 |
9 | Peaky Blinders | "Lock and Key" | 0.88 |
10 | Fleabag | "2.6" | 0.85 |
UK political satire The Thick of It edges out the Roys here, with an average of three expletives per minute. Both The Thick of It and Veep were created by Armando Iannucci, who seems to have a fondness for foul-mouthed characters. Though it seems important to note that Succession creator Jesse Armstrong also co-created Peep Show, which came in third here. And that Armstrong also wrote for both The Thick of It and Veep. So who's the real king of swear words?
This is simply an examination of final episodes: It’s possible other shows are more expletive-filled in their totality. Removing the profanity element, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia might be the wordiest show on television.
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