About The Sweeney

The Sweeney is the 2012 British action-thriller, adapted from the classic ITV police drama of the same name, that follows two members of the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad on the trail of an armed robbery crew. Directed by Nick Love and starring Ray Winstone and Ben Drew, its branding leans on a hard-edged extended italic — the kind of forward-leaning, all-caps display lockup associated with muscular crime cinema.

The choice was deliberate: the 1970s original Sweeney TV series helped define a visual register for British police drama, and the 2012 film signalled its inheritance by leaning into the same forward-rake, broad-stance lettering. That extended-italic display register has since shown up across British and American crime-genre marketing whenever a project wants to telegraph kinetic intensity in the title.

What font does The Sweeney use?

The Sweeney uses Akzidenz-Grotesk Pro Bold Extended Italic, designed by Berthold (1898 original; current cuts by Günter Gerhard Lange at H. Berthold AG). A commercial release from Berthold.

On this page, Lipi offers a generated lookalike of the font used in The Sweeney — ready to download instantly with a commercial license, no third-party purchase required.

Where this style works

Extended italic grotesques are the workhorse of action and sports branding — film and TV title cards for crime and thriller genres, boxing and motorsport identities, video-game UI for shooters and racers, energy-drink wordmarks, and any layout that wants to feel kinetic. The forward lean carries motion; the extended width carries weight; together they read as forceful at any scale.

What you get

Instant download as OTF, TTF and WOFF, with a commercial-use license for $7.99.

Full diacritic coverage for 81 Latin-script languages

English, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Swahili, German, Turkish, Filipino, Italian, Polish, Oromo, Uzbek (Latin), Zulu, Dutch, Somali, Malagasy, Afrikaans, Shona, Hungarian, Rundi, Kinyarwanda, Czech, Swedish, Serbian, Quechua, Albanian, Croatian, Luyia, Luo, Danish, Finnish, Slovak, Ganda, Sango, Norwegian Bokmål, Kalenjin, North Ndebele, Swiss German, Bemba, Nyankole, Soga, Teso, Lithuanian, Gusii, Galician, Sena, Slovenian, Chiga, Irish, Makonde, Morisyen, Estonian, Kabuverdianu, Basque, Norwegian Nynorsk, Friulian, Shambala, Bena, Asu, Luxembourgish, Icelandic, Jola-Fonyi, Taita, Samburu, Machame, Colognian, Breton, Vunjo, Makhuwa-Meetto, Rwa, Rombo, Sangu, Faroese, Romansh, Scottish Gaelic, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, Manx, Inari Sami, Volapük, Cornish.

Action Police Robberies London TV Drama Movie Poster Metropolitan Police Flying Squad 1970s Modern-day London Commercial Akzidenz Grotesk Xbold Italic font details Fontbolt Tags Font in use

Not affiliated with or endorsed by the rights holders of The Sweeney. The font on this page is an original Lipi-generated lookalike of the font used in The Sweeney, not a redistribution of the original commercial typeface. For the original typeface, see the official source.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Sweeney font free?

No. The Sweeney wordmark uses Akzidenz-Grotesk Pro Bold Extended Italic, a commercial typeface from H. Berthold. The Lipi lookalike here is sold under a single $7.99 commercial license — no Berthold purchase required.

What fonts look like the Akzidenz-Grotesk family?

Akzidenz-Grotesk is the 1898 ancestor of Helvetica and Univers, so all three families read as close cousins. Other comparable wide-italic grotesques include Trade Gothic Bold Extended Oblique, Knockout 91 HTF, and Compacta Bold Italic. Free options in the family include Inter Bold Italic.

What kind of projects fit this style?

Film, TV, and game marketing — particularly action, crime, thriller, and sports verticals — alongside motorsport branding, energy-drink packaging, and shooter-game UI. Strong any time a wordmark needs forward motion built into the type.