The 100 most popular TV shows, from easiest English to hardest

We measured the dialogue of every show and worked out how large an English vocabulary covers 98 percent of what is said. Easiest first.

What this measures

The 98 percent line: The figure is the vocabulary that covers 98 percent of what is said. That line is a choice, taken from Paul Nation's research on following English unaided. Draw it lower and every figure here drops.
Names do not count: Character and place names are removed before anything is measured, so a fantasy show is not made harder by its invented world. Westeros and Daenerys cost you nothing here.
We count lemmas: One entry per dictionary word: run and running are the same entry.
Order first, figure second: The distance between two shows is the dependable part. The exact figure for any single show is an estimate.

Words you know

At 5,000 words, 79 of these 100 shows are within reach. The tick in each bar is where your 5,000 words fall. The last column is how many words an average episode uses from outside those 5,000: the ones you would meet as new.

# Show Words you need 3,000 8,000 New words an episode

1

13 Reasons Why 2017

41 new words an episode

3,079

41
2

The Punisher 2017

37 new words an episode

3,202

37
3

Suits 2011

65 new words an episode

3,268

65
4

Friends 1994

26 new words an episode

3,326

26
5

The Walking Dead 2010

28 new words an episode

3,404

28
6

Lost 2004

30 new words an episode

3,434

30
7

The Bear 2022

38 new words an episode

3,439

38
8

Silo 2023

37 new words an episode

3,464

37
9

Heroes 2006

38 new words an episode

3,476

38
10

The White Lotus 2021

51 new words an episode

3,493

51
11

Invincible 2021

45 new words an episode

3,542

45
12

Ozark 2017

58 new words an episode

3,545

58
13

The Handmaid's Tale 2017

34 new words an episode

3,563

34
14

True Blood 2008

61 new words an episode

3,602

61
15

Narcos 2015

46 new words an episode

3,630

46
16

Stranger Things 2016

50 new words an episode

3,651

50
17

Sons of Anarchy 2008

46 new words an episode

3,677

46
18

Euphoria 2019

57 new words an episode

3,705

57
19

The 100 2014

33 new words an episode

3,714

33
20

Once Upon a Time 2011

46 new words an episode

3,719

46
21

Daredevil 2015

54 new words an episode

3,749

54
22

24 2001

47 new words an episode

3,762

47
23

True Detective 2014

59 new words an episode

3,778

59
24

Prison Break 2005

48 new words an episode

3,785

48
25

Big Little Lies 2017

63 new words an episode

3,811

63
26

DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story 2022

49 new words an episode

3,819

49
27

Gossip Girl 2007

73 new words an episode

3,824

73
28

Arrow 2012

57 new words an episode

3,916

57
29

Homeland 2011

55 new words an episode

3,921

55
30

Mad Men 2007

69 new words an episode

3,968

69
31

Cobra Kai 2018

41 new words an episode

3,987

41
32

Arrested Development 2003

52 new words an episode

4,007

52
33

Breaking Bad 2008

50 new words an episode

4,035

50
34

Jessica Jones 2015

58 new words an episode

4,043

58
35

Mr. Robot 2015

55 new words an episode

4,046

55
36

The Flash 2014

58 new words an episode

4,049

58
37

Dexter 2006

64 new words an episode

4,077

64
38

New Girl 2011

45 new words an episode

4,091

45
39

The Mentalist 2008

65 new words an episode

4,100

65
40

The Vampire Diaries 2009

53 new words an episode

4,100

53
41

Supernatural 2005

49 new words an episode

4,130

49
42

The Umbrella Academy 2019

57 new words an episode

4,191

57
43

Yellowstone 2018

51 new words an episode

4,200

51
44

Gotham 2014

56 new words an episode

4,202

56
45

Lucifer 2016

78 new words an episode

4,204

78
46

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 2005

45 new words an episode

4,243

45
47

Game of Thrones 2011

59 new words an episode

4,284

59
48

The Boys 2019

88 new words an episode

4,312

88
49

Reacher 2022

67 new words an episode

4,328

67
50

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2013

65 new words an episode

4,332

65
51

Modern Family 2009

55 new words an episode

4,360

55
52

Grey's Anatomy 2005

80 new words an episode

4,426

80
53

The Office 2005

50 new words an episode

4,430

50
54

The Wire 2002

93 new words an episode

4,436

93
55

Two and a Half Men 2003

39 new words an episode

4,446

39
56

Ted Lasso 2020

75 new words an episode

4,452

75
57

Person of Interest 2011

68 new words an episode

4,453

68
58

You 2018

81 new words an episode

4,456

81
59

Better Call Saul 2015

62 new words an episode

4,500

62
60

Andor 2022

54 new words an episode

4,502

54
61

The Sopranos 1999

88 new words an episode

4,531

88
62

Loki 2021

53 new words an episode

4,581

53
63

House of Cards 2013

86 new words an episode

4,589

86
64

How I Met Your Mother 2005

42 new words an episode

4,631

42
65

Shameless 2011

95 new words an episode

4,633

95
66

Criminal Minds 2005

80 new words an episode

4,652

80
67

Orange Is the New Black 2013

106 new words an episode

4,652

106
68

Altered Carbon 2018

73 new words an episode

4,654

73
69

Westworld 2016

63 new words an episode

4,686

63
70

Scrubs 2001

50 new words an episode

4,699

50
71

The Blacklist 2013

78 new words an episode

4,712

78
72

Fargo 2014

60 new words an episode

4,744

60
73

Fringe 2008

64 new words an episode

4,762

64
74

Succession 2018

128 new words an episode

4,786

128
75

Brooklyn Nine-Nine 2013

60 new words an episode

4,825

60
76

Only Murders in the Building 2021

69 new words an episode

4,838

69
77

Mindhunter 2017

107 new words an episode

4,873

107
78

Parks and Recreation 2009

61 new words an episode

4,904

61
79

American Horror Story 2011

69 new words an episode

4,943

69
80

Firefly 2002

88 new words an episode

5,107

88
81

The Good Place 2016

62 new words an episode

5,120

62
82

Fallout 2024

53 new words an episode

5,137

53
83

Rick and Morty 2013

55 new words an episode

5,190

55
84

The Big Bang Theory 2007

51 new words an episode

5,581

51
85

Boardwalk Empire 2010

97 new words an episode

5,694

97
86

The Mandalorian 2019

40 new words an episode

5,713

40
87

Community 2009

59 new words an episode

5,717

59
88

Severance 2022

58 new words an episode

5,856

58
89

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 2022

80 new words an episode

6,017

80
90

Outlander 2014

94 new words an episode

6,121

94
91

Shōgun 2024

64 new words an episode

6,144

64
92

Arcane 2021

46 new words an episode

6,147

46
93

Hannibal 2013

66 new words an episode

6,331

66
94

House 2004

106 new words an episode

6,335

106
95

Bridgerton 2020

132 new words an episode

6,999

132
96

Spartacus 2010

98 new words an episode

7,050

98
97

Love, Death & Robots 2019

20 new words an episode

7,228

20
98

Wednesday 2022

120 new words an episode

7,300

120
99

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 2026

46 new words an episode

7,796

46
100

House of the Dragon 2022

106 new words an episode

7,871

106

What this does not measure

Vocabulary and nothing else. Accents, how fast people talk and how the sound is mixed are separate reasons a show is hard to follow, and none of them are counted here.

Nor does it measure you. Two people with the same size of vocabulary know different words, and that is the thing a list like this can never see.

What the number tells you

Find a show you have watched comfortably and look at its figure. That is roughly where your English sits today. Anything near it will feel about the same. Anything well above it is the one you watch with subtitles on.

Read the list as an order. The distance between two shows is the dependable part. The exact figure for any single show is an estimate.

Why some shows ask for more

Most of the spread is register, not subject. The hardest shows here are period and fantasy, and what makes them hard is real English from another century: House of the Dragon runs on fealty, regent, vassal and tourney. The easiest are contemporary and talky, saying ordinary words again and again.

A high figure does not mean a show teaches you more. Some of that older vocabulary is worth having, and some of it you will never say out loud.

Professional jargon does less than you would expect. Suits is a legal drama and one of the easiest shows on this page, because a courtroom says the same few hundred specialist words over and over, and repetition is exactly what this measure rewards.

Every row here guesses at your vocabulary

A table can only assume one. Wordspotting works the other way around: it takes the episode you are about to watch and shows you the words in it that you have not marked as known, with a meaning and a sentence for each. Free to start.

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