'The Last of Us' Was the Most-Pirated Show of 2023
'The Last of Us' Was the Most-Pirated Show of 2023
Sci-fi streaming shows dominated the list of the most-pirated shows this year, with Pedro Pascal headlining a one-two hit between Last of Us and Mandalorian.
Well, not like you can own anything anymore.
I can't be bothered to figure out which streaming service it's on. Also my *arr stack is fully automated and shared with ~15 people so the cost per person is very low considering my nas and nuc use ~100W combined, that's $12/mo for 15 people based on my local electric rate. I would gladly put my plex/jellyfin server in the closet and pay for a subscription if I could pay $12/mo to legally watch any show / movie on however many screens I want from wherever I want. But until then, my arrstack is both cheaper for the features and more convenient in content availability.
As a comparison, to subscribe to every major streaming service would be upwards of $90 per month.
I'd put money on Australia being the top country to pirate it, no one wants to give Foxtel money to watch a HBO show.
The most popular show is also the one most pirated...
Amazing stuff
I didn’t pirate the show at first, because I could watch it legit on the streaming service I use. But that service consistently shit the bed each Sunday when the show aired.
REALLY tried to like it. Watched the whole thing but then afterwards, I felt like I had watched nothing. The farther away I get from the show, the more I dislike it. All of the acting was great. And when they got away from the video game, the story was wonderful. But I felt like I was watching a video game - which I was in a way. And I felt like it was trying way to hard to be profound. It's sad because I thought that "Chernobyl" was one of the best things I've ever watched on television.
Edit: Completely realize that this post was not about TLoU but just needed to get this off my chest. When everyone raves about it, I feel like I've been taking crazy pills. On the subject of the post, yes, streaming services are getting way too expensive and I think we'll reach an inflection point soon where they will all start collapsing at once.
I think I may have actually pirated this one at some point. Never intended to watch it, just a grab and seed sort of deal
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Torrent Freak’s annual look at piracy in 2023 saw the top 10 shows once again dominated by familiar faces from the world of streaming sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero material.
It’s a running trend for the last few years since the age of Game of Thrones’ climax—which dominated torrent sites for pretty much the entirety of its run, a legacy continued now by House of the Dragon, which took the crown in 2022—gave way to pirated streaming content.
It should be noted, as Torrent Freak does, these statistics only reflect a portion of any pirated content this year.
But even with that in mind, it’s not surprising that for the most part the biggest shows in demand are the ones that require premiums to access across multiple streaming platforms—even The Last of Us fits this, as both a hybrid show broadcast on premium cable and simulcast on (HBO) Max.
As the streaming age continues to descend into a portfolio of walled gardens, rather than its initial promise of offering access to content from a variety of studios in a singular place, it remains unsurprising that people will see piracy as an alternative to paying for another subscription-based service on top of what they already do to try out a show.
It’s not like the streamer didn’t have any big shows this year, either—it’s more likely that a lot more people have a Netflix subscription than they do an Apple TV+ or Disney+ subscription... and given the general trend across many streaming platforms this year has been increasing prices on cut or stagnated content, and, well, can you blame people for not wanting to buy in on top of what they already have?
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You’re welcome
Before they changed to HBO max, it was the only streaming service worth paying for. Once they started removing their own god damn shows, it was back to the bay.
The show was mid. Nothing about it was bad, in fact there were some genuinely quality stand out moments, the Frank and Bill episode was unexpected but really moving, but everything involving the zombies and Joel and Ellie seemed like a retread. Because it was. It was almost a 1:1 retelling of the game with added scenes that IMO felt haphazardly sewn into the main narrative. The game is more engaging and the show felt rushed due to, ironically, being shorter than the average person's playtime of Part 1.
Didn't watch it since I already hate Joel's guts from the first game, but I can't wait for part 2 so
spoiler
we can have all that discourse all over again after the golf episode.
I didn't even understand how to watch it in Germany (eventually figured it out, but the high seas were easier to sail).
I did buy the UHD Blu-ray set of this season though, because I enjoyed it quite a bit.
@return2ozma @technology Hated that show
and it sucked
It's one of the few shows that peaked my interest as I love zombies and post apocalyptic worlds but I only got thru like 4 or 5 episodes until I stopped watching as it was utter garbage as are most things that's on TV nowdays. That's why I don't feel like paying for it either. I don't seem to be in the target audience for most things.
I don't see the draw. Do people like Pedro Pascal because they feel bad for his GoT character? I don't have anything against him as a person or an actor but he seems like your average TV grade actor. Someone you would have seen ages ago in a show like LOST and forgot about. Good for him but I don't get why people online act like he's the best thing to happen to television