Breaking multiple HBO records and becoming a worldwide hit are some of the things that season 1 of House of the Dragon managed to accomplish in 2022. But the Game of Thrones prequel series didn’t stop following its predecessor in its footsteps there. Three years after the series' conclusion and being the most pirated TV show of 2019, its prequel took over the reins on the top spot. With at least four more seasons on the way, and the second one already scheduled for production, HBO subscribers and fans of the fantasy drama will have a lot of content coming their way in the following years.
According to a list published by TorrentFreak near the end of last year, House of the Dragon was the most pirated TV show of the year. The new fantasy drama did an excellent job with its adaptation of the Fire & Blood novel written by George R.R Martin, who helped develop the show alongside showrunner Ryan Condal. The show successfully visualized the downfall of House Targaryen, following the death of King Viserys which prompted the Hightowers to overthrow the Targaryens.
All of this culminated in the bloody conflict that later became known as the Dance of the Dragons, whose effects can still be felt hundreds of years later during the Game of Thrones timeline. The show managed to reach the necessary benchmarks, scoring successful reviews from critics and the audience. Martin’s closer involvement with the development of the House of the Dragon certainly plays a role here.
After helping write just four Game of Thrones episodes and giving the outlines for the final two books in his Song of Fire & Ice novels, his increased involvement is well received by the audience.
Becoming a hit out of the gate managed to keep people glued to the small screens, and it wasn’t just HBO subscribers who watched it. After House of the Dragon, the most pirated TV shows list plays out as follows:
- House of the Dragon
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- The Boys season 3
- Moon Knight
- Halo
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Stranger Things season 4
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- Star Wars: Andor
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was another highly-anticipated newcomer on this list, finishing in second place by quite a margin despite how much money Amazon spent on marketing it. It’s no surprise to see Marvel and Star Wars on a list like this, but The Boys' presence is pleasant to see. Season 3 of The Boys premiered last year and to see it place third on a list like this proves how much interest it generated.
What's surprising is not to see Stranger Things Season 4 on this list, given how popular it is. But, we guess everyone has a Netflix account these days, so there's no need to pirate it.
