In 2020, Baby Yoda helped The Mandalorian become the most pirated show of the year. In 2021, the title stays with Disney but shifts to another cinematic universe. With five Marvel shows coming out on Disney+ this year, it was inevitable that one of them would claim the pirate’s crown.
Per TorrentFreak, WandaVision — which debuted on Disney+ all the way back in January — is the most pirated show of the year. The series began with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living out idyllic sitcom lives in a small town called Westview. However, as the show goes on, we learn that Wanda has the entire town under her control; she’s used her powers to create an ideal life for herself to cope with the loss of Vision in Infinity War.
WandaVision also ranks in third place as Google’s top trending show and places second (behind Squid Game) as the most-tweeted-about show of the year.
Everyone was pirating Marvel shows in 2021
Marvel dominates the list of most pirated shows this year. Loki is in second place, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in fourth, Hawkeye in fifth and What If…? in sixth. I’m surprised that The Witcher managed to finish third place given that its second season only dropped recently. And The Wheel of Time also manages to sneak in at the bottom.
Take a look at the full list:
"1. Wandavision2. Loki3. The Witcher4. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier5. Hawkeye6. What If…?7. Foundation8. Rick and Morty9. Arcane10. The Wheel of Time"
Before drawing conclusions, take note of how TorrentFreak has gotten these numbers. “We have compiled a list of the most torrented TV shows worldwide and released in 2021 (single episode). The ranking is estimated based on sample data from several sources, including I Know and statistics reported by public BitTorrent trackers,” their website reads.
For me, the biggest absentee from the top three has to be Squid Game. The Korean survival drama quickly became a global phenomenon, becoming Netflix’s biggest release of all time. I’m sure it’s been pirated a ridiculous number of times. I’m also surprised that Netflix’s other smash hit Bridgerton didn’t make the cut. Perhaps it’s because so many people have Netflix that pirating isn’t necessary.
Looking ahead to 2022, I think we’re almost guaranteed to see House of the Dragon become one of the most pirated shows of the year. I mean, Game of Thrones was the world’s most pirated TV show for basically its entire run. But will it dethrone Marvel? We’ll have to wait and see.
Or maybe Amazon’s anticipated Lord of the Rings series will fly to the top. There’s always a chance of seeing a surprise show take off, too.
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