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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews
Jan 6, 2021
Season 1 Review:
Cage is ultimately just the bait for the series, which, over the course of six 20-minute episodes, goes surprisingly deep into not only each epithet’s origins but the effects of racism and misogyny on what is or isn’t considered taboo, and what can or can’t be reclaimed. If anything, the only pity is that the series isn’t longer; the discussions are fascinating and unusually upfront, and beg a more detailed history than the brief overview can provide.
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Jan 6, 2021
Season 1 Review:
It’s mostly an educational lark that enables comedians to riff on obscenities and allows Nicolas Cage — I know, I know, I buried the lede — to act as an overly serious, Masterpiece-style host of the proceedings who tears into his dialogue like a bread-maker attacking a rare steak. But there is also some genuinely interesting information in this light sextet of episodes.
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Jan 5, 2021
Jan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
Over six bite-sized episodes—each clocks in at just 20 minutes—History aims to be both enlightening and entertaining, and largely succeeds on both fronts. It pairs color commentary from a solid slate of comedians and actors with unstuffy lessons from a game gang of academics.
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The Daily BeastJan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
With its lighthearted tone, generated by its witty commentary and diversely animated sequences, title cards, and graphical timelines, History of Swear Words is energized by Cage’s self-consciously erudite schtick but is largely dominated by talking-head remarks from a collection of comedians.
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Jan 6, 2021
Season 1 Review:
What’s missing here overall isn’t seriousness, but context and a little tension. The way the comics are deployed individually, too many of the same points are stated, reiterated and unchallenged. (A roundtable setup would’ve been livelier.) An extra 10 minutes per episode might’ve led to a richer examination of the issues — the words humankind creates, then stigmatizes, then weaponizes, and then tends to use over and over to less effective advantage.
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Jan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
Each episode does an admirable job speeding through all the medieval mythology, socio-political context, pop culture reflections and bizarre fun facts behind each swear word. But with only 20 minutes a pop, these chapters barely have enough time to lay out the basic facts, let alone dig in.
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Jan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
Whether rising to consult a dictionary, delivering a full-throated rendering of the all-star swear word, or simply sending up the mock seriousness of the enterprise with wry humor, Cage’s appearances are genuine highlights. If only the rest of the series were as consistent.
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The GuardianJan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
This premise lacks the basic heft required to anchor a miniseries, instead leaving the impression of a collection of lengthy YouTube videos. ... The saving grace dispelling the aura of disposability is Cage, the sheer magnitude of his screen presence lending the whole operation a higher credibility. He’s living proof that there’s a lyrical poetry to the unsubtle art of cursing, and that that primal magic isn’t so simply conjured.
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The PlaylistJan 5, 2021
Season 1 Review:
‘Swear Words’ is a joyless slog. ... You’re left wanting to crawl under a blanket in horror as funny people such as Jim Jeffries, Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman, and Nikki Glaser drop bomb after bomb. ... If the show cut the comedians completely and just focused on Cage and these [experts], the show would have been about half as long (a good thing) and could have been a really solid little web series.
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