The Last of Us wins unseen battle for top pirated TV show

Its premiere saw it draw over 4.7 million viewers on HBO, second only to House of the Dragon. Over the course of its nine-episode run, The Last of Us was averaging nearly 32 million viewers per episode, a monumental feat for any show. What's impressive is that these stats don't account for piracy, which would likely make these figures much higher.

Piracy stats might not give us a clear picture of who's winning and who's not in the streaming wars, but they can give us a hint. Game of Thrones dominated the list of most pirated TV shows for years, ceding the title after its conclusion in 2019.

In 2020, Westworld failed to top the list, losing out to The Mandalorian and The Boys, which came in at the first and second spots, respectively. However, we can all agree that by the time the third season of Westworld rolled in in 2020, viewership enthusiasm was at an all-time low.

Ultimately, there's a good chance that HBO shows will dominate the list of most pirated TV shows for the foreseeable future. Season 2 of House of the Dragon is scheduled to premiere this coming summer, while the second season of The Last of Us will follow sometime in 2025.

Unless these two shows decline in quality, we doubt any other show will fetch more downloads on the high seas. Maybe Fallout might challenge House of the Dragon next year, but really, this is me being very optimistic.

Going back to the most pirated TV shows list, Disney might be losing out on many potential subscribers considering four of its shows, namely The Mandalorian, Loki, Ahsoka, and Secret Invasion, were second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

Apple TV also made the list, with Silo coming in at sixth, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters at seventh, and Ted Lasso rounding off the list. Tulsa King was also a major hit at eighth place, while Gen V seemed to have an impressive debut, securing the ninth spot.