Skip to main content

Hackers steal and leak episodes from ‘Game of Thrones,’ other HBO series

Life in Westeros is filled with dangers — rival houses, deadly diseases, armies of undead — but fans of Game of Thrones now have their own enemies to watch out for: leaks and spoilers. The internet already swarms with spoilers, but a recent cyber-attack against HBO has resulted in episodes and scripts for several of the network’s TV series being leaked online, and could likely turn your social media feed into a veritable minefield for the next few weeks.

The massive hack was first reported by Entertainment Weekly. The culprits obtained 1.5 terabytes of data, which includes upcoming episodes from Ballers and Room 104 and the script for next week’s episode of Game of Thrones, all of which have been leaked online. According to the anonymous hackers, more stolen content will be “coming soon.”

Recommended Videos

In an official statement regarding the hack, HBO confirmed that it “recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information. We immediately began investigating the incident and are working with law enforcement and outside cybersecurity firms. Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold.” Despite these efforts, it remains unknown who carried out the leak.

Hacking and leaking have become facts of internet life in recent years, with other major media companies like Sony having upcoming projects and internal production details leaked by hackers. Companies like Yahoo, Dropbox, and Verizon have also seen user data compromised due to cyber sleuths. Even smartphones and smart TVs are at risk these days.

The hack is certainly a serious blow for HBO and the cast and crew of the affected shows, but the leaks will also affect fans. If you’ve been seeking to avoid spoilers, take extra heed this week as details of the leaked episodes and scripts may spread beyond spoiler threads and into social media. It’s also a strong possibility, given the extent of the stolen data and the threats of the hackers, that even more content from the current seasons of Game of Thrones, Ballers, Room 104, and possibly other shows will hit the internet. Stay vigilant, friends.

Brendan Hesse
Former Staff Writer, Home Theater
Brendan has written about a wide swath of topics, including music, fitness and nutrition, and pop culture, but tech was…
House of the Dragon’s latest episode reveals the series’ biggest problem
Alicent and Criston face each other in House of the Dragon season 2.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2.

The second episode of House of the Dragon season 2 begins, as it should, in chaos. As the news of Prince Jaehaerys' murder spreads throughout the Red Keep of King's Landing, bed maidens and castle workers are detained, all while Jaehaerys' father, Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), rages over his son's death, and members of his Small Council -- namely, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) -- brainstorm over how to respond to the tragic event. The Hightowers, as cunning as ever, decide to use Jaehaerys' assassination to their political advantage by parading the boy's dead body through the streets as part of a funeral procession and denouncing his murder as an act of wanton cruelty on the part of Aegon's rival, Rhaenyra (Emmy D'Arcy).

Read more
Game of Thrones’ disappointing finale lost sight of what made the series so great
Daenerys stands above the Unsullied in the Game of Thrones finale.

Ending a TV show well is an infamously hard thing to do. Plenty of great, talented writers have tried and failed over the years, and even more fans have been left disappointed as their favorite shows failed to stick the landing. While bad final episodes have been a part of the TV landscape for decades, no series finale in modern memory has been as universally and passionately detested as Game of Thrones'.

After entertaining millions of viewers for eight years, the HBO drama delivered a final trio of rushed, ham-fisted episodes in May 2019 that brought its story to an incredibly disappointing, unearned conclusion. The show that had long held the TV crown subsequently faded from the world's pop cultural conversations — proving that sometimes the destination is as important as the journey. Many longtime fans seemingly pushed Game of Thrones from their minds altogether, while others decided to place all their hopes for a better ending on the two remaining Song of Ice and Fire books that author George R. R. Martin still hasn't published.

Read more
5 years ago, Game of Thrones aired its last great episode. Here’s why it still holds up
Jamie knights Brienne in episode 2 of Game of Thrones season 8.

Many fans would likely agree that Game of Thrones went out not with a bang, but a profound whimper. After dominating pop culture for nearly 10 years, the hit HBO series concluded with a trio of episodes that were universally reviled by both fans and critics alike. The show's lackluster, ham-fisted finale led to its popularity seemingly vanishing into thin air. In the five years since it aired, time hasn't been kind to Game of Thrones season 8.

To this day, many people still discuss the series' final season with a mix of bitterness and disbelief, and those fans won't find any disagreement about the quality of Game of Thrones' last few chapters here. As disappointing as its eighth season remains, though, April 21 marked the five-year anniversary of its noteworthy second episode, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The fan-favorite installment ranks not only as its season's best chapter, but also as the last great episode that Game of Thrones ever produced.

Read more