- TorrentFreak recently shared a list of the ten most pirated TV shows of 2020, and The Mandalorian on Disney+ took the top spot during its second season run.
- Game of Thrones has dominated this list in previous years, but the show’s final season ended in 2019. Westworld picked up some of the slack by coming in third place.
- Eight different networks and streaming services are represented on the list.
In a year as tumultuous and unpredictable as 2020, it’s nice to know that some things didn’t change. For example, as easy as TV shows are to find, actually watching them can be an expensive endeavor, especially if your favorite shows are all on different streaming services. As a result, people are still illegally downloading episodes of those shows, and thanks to TorrentFreak, we know which shows were pirated the most throughout the year.
For many years, Game of Thrones dominated this list, coming out on top repeatedly as it aired on HBO. But now that its watch has ended, a new franchise has ascended the throne. The Mandalorian was the most pirated show of 2020 on BitTorrent, rising from third place to first during its second season on Disney+.
And rounding out the top three are Amazon’s The Boys and HBO’s Westworld, both of which are the action-packed blockbusters of their respective services. Amazon knew it had a potential hit on its hands when it renewed The Boys for a second season before the first had even begun to stream on Prime Video, and that season ended up being just as good as the first, if not better. Meanwhile, HBO’s Westworld may not command quite as much attention as Game of Thrones, but its huge cast and expansive plot make it a natural successor to Thrones.
As TorrentFreak notes, if you want to watch the three most pirated shows of 2020 legally, you’d need to subscribe to three separate streaming services. In fact, five of the ten most pirated shows of 2020 are only available on streaming services, while the remaining five aired on cable. Of course, if you want to catch up on those shows, the best way to do so is on a streaming service. I doubt many people are watching Vikings as it airs live on History:
- The Mandalorian | Disney+
- The Boys |
Amazon Prime Video - Westworld | HBO
- Vikings | History Channel
- Star Trek: Picard | CBS All Access
- Rick and Morty | Adult Swim
- The Walking Dead | AMC
- The Outsider | HBO
- Arrow | The CW
- The Flash | The CW
Perhaps the most interesting revelation from this list is just how many channels and services were included. HBO and The CW were the only two that showed up more than once, illustrating the degree to which TV viewers have split their attention among the seemingly infinite number of content producers. With Disney+ planning to launch dozens of Star Wars and Marvel shows in the coming months, it will be interesting to see how the list changes.
