Four-letter swearing in "Star Trek" became a hot-button issue when "Discovery" Season 1 featured the franchise's first and second f-bombs back in 2017, as followed by "Picard" also jumping on the swear train. The animated comedy "Lower Decks" features more swearing in a single episode than an entire series of other "Trek" shows, and yet has never allowed an unedited F-bomb through like the other shows, opting instead to bleep out the harsher language. CinemaBlend recently spoke to animator Barry Kelly and producer Brad Winters about why that choice was made in the age of adult animation, and they shared a pretty illuminating answer.

I spoke to Barry Kelly about "Star Trek: Lower Decks" Season 4 and my curiosity surrounding the show's continued censorship of swears. I theorized, perhaps, that because it's an animated comedy, CBS requested certain swears be cut. Brad Winters was listening in on the call and reassured me that the network has never tried to step in and stop "Lower Decks" from swearing.