'Homeland' Season 3: Premiere Leaks Online A Month Ahead of Start Date
Showtime's "Homeland" is just the latest high-profile victim of online piracy.
According to Variety, hundreds of thousands of copies of the Season 3 premiere were downloaded via BitTorrent networks for least 24 hours prior to yesterday. The illegally downloaded copy that has been cruising the Internet closely resembles the screener that was given to critics at July's Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles, Variety reports. Season 3 of "Homeland" doesn't premiere until Sept. 29.
The leaked version apparently doesn't have the opening credits and is lacking some special effects. According to Deadline, "Homeland" producer 20th Century Fox has had its anti-piracy unit working to fix the issue since yesterday. A BitTorrent spokesperson said that true download numbers aren't trackable by the platform except by the original uploader, Deadline writes.
Deadline also reports that BitTorrent is currently trying to get rid of its piracy reputation by teaming up with content creators on co-branded campaigns. The site's most recent effort was with Converge Studios' "Fly or Die," which achieved over one million legit downloads after it premiered last month.
Variety writes that depending on your view of piracy, the Showtime leak could be both beneficial and harmful. The early leak could deter audiences from watching the premiere on Showtime, but the leak could also be a way to promote the Season 3 premiere of the award-winning drama.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said that he was happy to see HBO's "Game of Thrones" get pirated through BitTorrent, as it served as a beneficial promotional tactic for the medieval fantasy drama.
While "Homeland" doesn't premiere until Sept. 29, you can see your favorite actors from the show at the Emmy awards on Sept. 22. Season 2 of "Homeland" garnered nine nominations, including Best Actress in a Drama for Claire Danes and Best Actor for Damian Lewis. The stars of the show both won the award last year. The CIA drama was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series.