Over the last seven series, Game Of Thrones has become known not just for its action-packed sequences and impressive ensemble cast, but also as one of the most violent and sexually-charged shows on TV.
But just how fair is this reputation for sex and violence?
Well, as we await the debut of the eighth series, PA has carried out research revealing the extent of the show’s less family-friendly moments, including which characters are the most responsible for it.
Let’s start with the nudity, shall we?
Perhaps surprisingly, PA found that over the last seven series, there was actually more male nudity than female, with the show racking up more than 15 minutes’ worth of men with their kit off than women over the last seven years.
Taking a closer look at the stats, though, these statistics give equal credence to male and female topless scenes, and if we look purely at “rear” and “full frontal” nudity, women are shown in these states more than three times as much as men.
It should also be noted that a lot of this male nudity is either on the battlefield or during torture scenes, and if we look purely at “sexualised” scenes, there’s 10 times more female nudity than there is for men.
PA also points out that more than 30% of these naked women are unnamed sex workers whose role is to entertain male characters.
Taking violence into account as well as nudity, PA discovered that in the show’s early days, it was a constant battle between sex and violence as to which was featured more heavily.
However, the infamous Red Wedding was a turning point, after which violent content always outweighed the nudity in Game Of Thrones, with more than 3 hours and 9 minutes’ worth of violence in seven years, compared to 1 hour and 16 minutes of nudity.
Meanwhile, after grouping together duels, battles, assaults, murders and acts of sexual violence, PA found that Kit Harington’s character Jon Snow was the most violent in the Game Of Thrones universe, spending 13 minutes and 9 seconds of his time on screen committing violent acts.
In second place was Brienne Of Tarth on 10 minutes and 9 seconds, with Jaime Lannister not far behind her on 9 minutes and 38 seconds.
Interestingly, although statistically only the fifth most-violent character, it’s Arya Stark who is responsible for the most murders, largely thanks to her assassin training.
All of this could change in the weeks to come, though, as Game Of Thrones kicks off its eighth series, which launches in the early hours of Monday morning, in a simulcast with US viewers. The new season’s debut will then air later that evening at 9pm for UK viewers who don’t feel like staying up all night.
For PA’s research, all 67 episodes of Game Of Thrones were divided between 15 researchers, with each episode being watched by two separate people, who measured factors like every time a nipple was on screen and the time it took for each of the show’s many murders to take place.