by Thinus Ferreira
Fantasy TV series ruled the robbers' roost last year with HBO's House of the Dragon which rose to become 2022's most-pirated TV show, followed by Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in second place.
TorrentFreak has tabulated and released its annual list of most-pirated TV shows globally in 2022 with the first season of House of the Dragon, seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's streamer Showmax in first place.
In 2020 The Mandalorian from Disney+ held the top spot and in 2021 it went to Wandavision, also on Disney+ but both disappeared from the list in 2022 since neither series released new episodes in 2022.
"What stands out most about the Top 10 is that it's entirely made up of newcomers," says TorrentFreak.
"With the current streaming landscape being so fragmented, it is no surprise that streaming exclusives dominate the list today. Apparently, many people see piracy as an alternative to taking out yet another subscription."
HBO's House of the Dragon is the only show on the list which is a traditional, linear TV series.
The first season of the science fiction series Halo on Paramount+ is the only series on the list on a video streaming service not available in South Africa, although Showmax managed to secure it for South Africa before Paramount+'s planned launch likely happening later this year.
Netflix has only one show on the list with Stranger Things, while Disney+ which finally launched in South Africa in 2022, dominates the list with five series in the top 10.
Despite the absence of The Mandalorian, LucasFilm's Star Wars remains a dominant force in the TV pirate world, with three Star Wars TV series on the list: Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, as well as Andor.
Here's TorrentFreak's compiled list of 2022's Top 10 most-pirated shows:
1. House of the Dragon, HBO
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime Video
3. The Boys, Amazon Prime Video
4. Moon Knight, Disney+
5. Halo, Paramount+
6. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+
7. The Book of Boba Fett, Disney+
8. Stranger Things, Netflix
9. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Disney+
10. Andor, Disney+
