When Will ‘The Walking Dead’ Use The F-Word?

The Walking Dead is allowed to use the F-Word twice per season, now. So, when will the AMC show make use of that?

With only seven episodes remaining in The Walking Dead Season Eight, it has been a “f—” free season to date. Furthermore, the word won’t be used in Episode 8×10, either. No character death, sight of walker herds, or emotional conversations have prompted a character to spew the word dreaded by the FCC, just yet.

So, this means the F-word, if coming at all, will arrive somewhere between Episode 8×11 and Episode 8×16. Still, it seems like a safe bet that the AMC show won’t use the word it’s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead used twice in its third outing.

“You get a specific number of curse words you can say, and then there’s a list of what you can and can’t do,” former Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson told ComicBook.com. “I think it was our script coordinator who told me there was an email had come up; there had been a memo saying we could now say ‘f—‘ twice over the course of an entire season.”

While Fear the Walking Dead completed its third season using the word twice ahead of The Walking Dead Season Eight, the flagship zombie drama still cut the word from its Season Eight premiere.

“I only did one take where I didn’t swear on the countdown,” Rick actor Andrew Lincoln told. “I just went, ’10, 9, 8, 7.. Ah, f— it,’ and then started shooting. That must be the only take that I didn’t swear so I think that it’s important everybody knows that, in my head, I was saying ‘F— it!’ just as I fired the gun at Negan. With every shot.” Upon a closer look, however, the take used in the episode is indeed a take where Lincoln’s Rick spouted the word but it was silenced.

Executive producer Greg Nicotero explained the silencing during an interview on ComicBook.com’s After the Dead. “The moment that Andy’s talking about is when [Rick] says to Negan, ‘Oh, you’re gonna make me count?’ And the he goes, ’10, 9, 8, 7,’ and then he just goes, ‘Ah, F it!’ Cocks the gun and opens fire on Negan and the group,” Nicotero explained. “We had finished mixing this episode before the F-takes were approved by AMC. Otherwise, that would’ve been the perfect spot to put it in.”

Assuming Nicotero’s claim of the edit having been locked before the policy change came in is true, that means the show can use the word twice in its remaining episodes. However, if it were to have been edited out with knowledge of the change, AMC might be aiming to keep the status quo with its most precious title rather than make headlines for some harsh language.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.