‘Succession’ finale featured 235 expletives, while ‘Yellowstone’ contained 24 F-words and 14 S-words
A drastic surge in profanity-laden content on television and streaming platforms has sparked concerns among viewers.
Chad Michael, CEO of EnjoyMoviesYourWay.com, a content-filtering service for smart TVs, notes a steep uptick in crude language in movies and shows.
He says it could lead to desensitization of the words and a cycle of increased usage.
Expletives explosions onscreen
A recent script analysis revealed the finale of Succession on Max had 235 expletives, while Yellowstone required edits for broadcast, containing 24 F-words and 14 S-words and explicit visuals from the Paramount original.
Streaming platforms sidestep regulations
Expletive usage has been steadily increasing on subscription streaming platforms, which attract 83% of US consumers. It bypasses FCC profanity rules. This includes Netflix, Max and Amazon Prime.
EnjoyMoviesYourWay.com deploys AI to filter titles and has witnessed a rise in profanity since 1985.
The usage of the F-word went from 511 in 1985 to 22,177 through early November 2023. The use of the S-word went from 484 in 1985 to 10,864 as of November 2023.