History of Swear Words is an American documentary series hosted by Nicolas Cage. The series was released on January 5, 2021, on Netflix.[1][2][3]
| History of Swear Words | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Documentary series |
| Written by |
|
| Presented by | Nicolas Cage |
| Theme music composer | Adam Blau |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Ben Stoddard |
| Running time | 20 minutes |
| Production companies | B17 Entertainment Funny or Die |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | January 5, 2021 |
Premise
editHosted by Nicolas Cage, the unscripted series explores the History of Swear Words through interviews with experts in etymology, popular culture, history and entertainment, with each episode diving into the origins, usage and cultural impact of specific curse words: fuck, shit, bitch, dick, pussy and damn.[1][3]
Cast
edit- Nicolas Cage as Host
- Jess Harnell as Grandpa
Entertainers
edit- Sarah Silverman
- Nick Offerman
- Nikki Glaser
- Patti Harrison
- Open Mike Eagle
- Joel Kim Booster
- DeRay Davis
- London Hughes
- Jim Jefferies
- Zainab Johnson
- Baron Vaughn
- Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Experts
edit- Benjamin K. Bergen – Professor of Cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego
- Anne H. Charity Hudley – Linguist, Professor of African-American English at the University of California, Santa Barbara
- Mireille Miller-Young – Professor of Women's studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
- Elvis Mitchell – Film critic
- Melissa Mohr – Author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing
- Kory Stamper – Author of Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, Lexicographer, and former editor for Merriam-Webster
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "F**k" | January 5, 2021 |
| 2 | "Sh*t" | January 5, 2021 |
| 3 | "Bitch" | January 5, 2021 |
| 4 | "D**k" | January 5, 2021 |
| 5 | "Pu**y" | January 5, 2021 |
| 6 | "Damn" | January 5, 2021 |
Production
editOn December 9, 2020, it was announced that Nicolas Cage would host an unscripted six-episode series about the history of swear words for Netflix.[1][2]
The series has been produced by Bellamie Blackstone, Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, and Beth Belew for Funny or Die, with Brien Meagher and Rhett Bachner for Industrial Media's B17 Entertainment respectively. Blackstone will also serve as the series showrunner.[3]
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 70% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Brevity may be the soul of wit, but digging a little deeper could only help History of Swear Words — a show that almost lives up to its name and host, but falls a little f-king short."[4] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the series three out of four stars and described it as "a cheeky, entertaining and legitimately educational look at the etymology of the most common curse words."[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c White, Peter (December 9, 2020). "Nicolas Cage To Host 'History Of Swear Words' At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Moreau, Jordan (December 9, 2020). "Nicolas Cage Hosts 'History of Swear Words' Series on Netflix". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c Porter, Rick (December 9, 2020). "Nicolas Cage to Explore 'History of Swear Words' for Netflix | Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ "History of Swear Words: Season 1 (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ "History of Swear Words: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ Reoper, Richard (January 4, 2021). "'History of Swear Words': Netflix doc filthy rich with insight about obscenities". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 8, 2021.