Peaky Blinders' accents voted hardest for Americans to understand. Find out which other shows made the list

Virgin Radio

26 Jul 2022, 14:15

A new survey has revealed which TV shows American viewers have the most difficulty understanding due to the accents in them. Peaky Blinders came out on top of the poll, but there were plenty of other contenders, including Derry Girls and Game of Thrones.

The new survey, which was carried out by Preply, looked into the TV habits of people who use subtitles or closed captioning when trying to understand accents. 

Coming out on top of the poll for most-watched with subtitles was Peaky Blinders, the crime drama created by Steven Knight, and starring Cillian Murphy, which features plenty of Birmingham accents.

Next on the list of shows that Americans had a hard time understanding was Derry Girls. The sitcom follows a group of five teenagers living in Derry, which means there are plenty of Northern Irish accents within. 

Game of Thrones was third, followed by Outlander, Downton Abbey, and Bridgerton.

Also in the top 20 were Love Island, The Crown and Sherlock.  

In terms of the actors that American viewers struggle to understand, Tom Hardy came out on top, with Sofia Vergara second and Arnold Schwarzenegger third. Sean Connery and Johnny Depp made up the top five.

Of the accents that American people have the toughest time understanding, Scottish came out on top.

The poll also revealed that 57 percent of Americans have used subtitles in order to better understand actors with an accent.

When asked the main reason for using subtitles, 61 percent of Americans said they do so when accents are difficult to understand, while 29 percent prefer to watch their content at home quietly and use the subtitles so as not to disturb roommates or family. 

Just under one in five people regularly use subtitles in order to learn a new language.

You can read the full survey results on Preply.com.