Cage lets rip in series on blue language

History of Swear Words opens with Nicolas Cage, solemn as a rock, turning to the camera and unleashing a torrent of famous lines joined by one crucial, satisfying element: the thrill of forcefully exhaling the word “f---.”

With the combination of highbrow and lowbrow that Cage has turned into a profitable persona all its own, the actor rips into iconic lines ranging from the basic (“who the f--- do you think you're talking to?”) to the perversely iconic (“f--- it, we'll do it live”) to the legendary (“I've had it with these motherf---in' snakes on this motherf---in' plane”). It's a short intro, but one that sets the tone for a self-aware series that delights in exploring formerly bleeped words as much as its host does in saying them.

In theory, “Nicolas Cage hosts a Netflix show about swear words” sounds like a wacky game show the algorithm spat out as an afterthought. In practice, History of Swear Words is more educational and straightforward than that, delivering six bitesized lessons on six verboten and/or controversial words with the help of etymologists, comedians and historians.

Cage proves a smart choice for a host. This is both because he's an enigmatic actor who's game for anything, and because the show keeps his contributions brief. The balance of historians against comedians such as London Hughes and Nikki Glaser give History of Swear Words a sort of documentary meets Best Week Ever vibe that works for the subject matter.

So the main problem with the series isn't the presentation, but with how quickly it breezes through its material. Usually I'm begging Netflix shows to pare themselves down, and yet by the end of The History of Swear Words, I was left frustrated that I didn't get deeper dives.

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.

ADAM ROSE / NETFLIX Nicolas Cage banks on his highbrow-meets-lowbrow persona to host the breezy new Netflix series History of Swear Words.