As long as streaming services continue to hike prices of subscriptions year after year, piracy will always be the logical alternative for those who don’t want to pay up. For proof of that, we look to TorrentFreak’s annual list of the ten most pirated shows of the year.
For virtually the entirety of its run, Game of Thrones could not be knocked off. Once the HBO hit finally ended, Star Wars and Marvel picked up the slack, as WandaVision swiped the top spot in 2020 and The Mandalorian ascended the throne in 2021. It would be a short reign for Disney+, though, as House of the Dragon reclaimed the crown last year.
Once again, there were no new seasons of George R.R. Martin shows released in 2023, which meant that a new challenger was able to make its mark. Based on BitTorrent traffic, The Last of Us was the most pirated show of 2023.
Just like that, HBO started a new streak. Disney+ looked like a worthy challenger just two years ago, but pirates clearly just can’t get enough of HBO. That said, the rest of the top five consists of four Disney+ shows, so the streamer still has plenty of fans.
The most pirated shows of 2023
Without further ado, these were the shows that pirates torrented the most in 2023:
- The Last of Us | HBO
- The Mandalorian | Disney+
- Loki | Disney+
- Ahsoka | Disney+
- Secret Invasion | Disney+
- Silo | Apple TV+
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters | Apple TV+
- Tulsa King | Paramount+
- Gen V | Prime Video
- Ted Lasso | Apple TV+
While HBO’s video game adaptation claimed the top spot, Disney+ had an impressive showing as well. As much flak as Star Wars and the MCU have taken this year, audiences simply can’t look away. Apple TV+ is making waves with its sci-fi offerings (and the final season of Ted Lasso), while Prime Video snuck in at #9 with its The Boys spinoff Gen V.
The biggest surprise on the list is Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King, which probably got a boost from Sylvester Stallone starring as Dwight “The General” Manfredi.
