'History Of Swear Words' Clip: Nicolas Cage Digs Into An Expletive That Can Be Used As A Weapon

If you're looking to kick off 2021 by enriching your mind while also being a little indecent, then a new documentary series from Netflix about the origins of obscenities will be right up your alley.

Nicolas Cage hosts History of Swear Words, a six-episode series that dives into the history of some of the nastier words in the English language. There's already a trailer out there painting a broad picture of what this series will entail, but a new History of Swear Words clip focuses in on a single word and how some of the show's guest commentators feel about it.

The word of the day is "bitch," and the clip features comedians like Nikki Glaser and London Hughes offering their take on the word that has traditionally been used to insult women. But as comedians, they certainly still find value in its use, even if it does lean more towards being used to demean women than anything else.

Other talking heads throughout the series will include comedians and actors like Joel Kim Booster, DeRay Davis, Open Mike Eagle, Patti Harrison, Jim Jefferies, Zainab Johnson, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Baron Vaughn, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Though comedians are certainly some of the best guests to comment on swearing, there will also be intellectual experts on the subject, including Benjamin Bergen (PhD, Cognitive Scientist, Author of What The F), Mireille Miller-Young (PhD, Professor of Feminist Studies), Elvis Mitchell (Film Critic/Host of The Treatment on KCRW), Melissa Mohr (PhD, Author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing), and Kory Stamper (Lexicographer, Author Of Word By Word).

Since this is just a six-episode series, I'm hoping that this is just the first season. Surely not all swear words can be covered in just six episodes unless they're sticking to the most basic swear words. The official synopsis below seems to give us an idea of the six words that will be the focus of the show, but there are plenty more that deserve to be explored. So if this show is a hit, hopefully Netflix will give us more in the future.

An education in expletives: the history lesson you didn't know you needed. History of Swear Words, hosted by Nicolas Cage, is a loud and proudly profane series that explores the origins, pop culture-usage, science and cultural impact of curse words. Through interviews with experts in etymology, pop culture, historians and entertainers, the six-episode series dives into the origins of "F**k", "Sh*t", "B*tch", "D**k", "Pu**y", and "Damn."

History of Swear Words debuts on Netflix on January 5, 2021.