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Spoilers and leaks for upcoming feature films and popular television shows is nothing new under the Hollywood sun: Anyone with an internet connection and a desire to ruin any surprise that might be awaiting them in whatever their pop culture prediliction may be can easily troll around the seamy underbelly of the Magic 8 Ball known as the internet and ferret out any and all details that they may otherwise have to – GASP! – wait for. Of course, it’s another matter entirely when an actual yet-to-be-released film or television show somehow shows up in some god-forsaken corner of our computers weeks before its set to debut. This news-hound can well recall the season three finale of Homeland – one of my favorite shows – leaking a day or two before Showtime was set to drop it. I steered clear of that illicitly downloaded episode simply because I wanted the surprise of knowing whether or not Damian Lewis’ Brody character would live to fight another day (spoiler: he doesn’t). That story simply underlines a long-held concern of the entertainment industry: How do you keep an absolute tight lid on productions which fans are eagerly clamoring to know every blessed detail of?
Per our pugnacious pals over at Variety, the season 1 finale of HBO’s smash-hit House of the Dragon was leaked online this past Friday, just two days before the show proper was scheduled to officially air.
Word ‘round industry campfire has it that the leak of the season finale for House of the Dragon originated from a distrribution partner to HBO in Europe, Africa or the Middle East (take your pick, Sherlock Holmes).
In a prepared statement to Variety, HBO said that “We are aware that the tenth episode of ‘House of the Dragon’ has been posted on illegal torrent sites. It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region. HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet. We’re disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of the episode when it premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, where it will stream exclusively in 4K.”
As pointed out at the outset of this article, leaks of entire episodes of popular shows are not out of the ordinary, and HBO has had to deal with similar issues in the past with Game of Thrones. Here’s hoping not too many avid fans of House of the Dragons have had their season one spoiled by this leak.
