Some House of the Dragon fans are getting an unsanctioned early screening of the Season 1 finale. That episode, “The Black Queen” leaked online on Friday, October 21, two days before the finale’s airing on Sunday, October 23.
“We are aware that the tenth episode of House of the Dragon has been posted on illegal torrent sites,” HBO said in a statement to Variety, adding that the leak seems to have originated from a distribution partner in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East.
“HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet,” the premium cable added. “We’re disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show…”
In the statement, HBO also noted that fans “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,” seemingly incentivizing fans to prioritize their viewing experience over any early access to the episode.
As Variety notes, HBO was also plagued with leaked episodes of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon’s predecessor. HBO eventually stopped sending advance screeners to media reviewers, but Game of Thrones Season 8 episodes still popped up early on illegal websites and on platforms like DirecTV Now and the German version of Amazon Prime Video.
Though the first season of House of the Dragon is coming to a close, HBO has already renewed the series for a second season. In fact, the network ordered Season 2 of House of the Dragon just days after the Season 1 premiere gave HBO its largest-ever audience for any new original series, with a total of more than 20 million viewers.
“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with Season 1,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, said at the time. “Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV.”
House of the Dragon, Season 1 Finale, Sunday, October 23, 9/8c, HBO
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