A ‘House of the Dragon’ leak has HBO on high alert

Scenes from the season 2 finale are now available on social media.

By Joe Allen Published July 31, 2024

Emma D'Arcy in House of the Dragon season 2 — HBO

In its second season, House of the Dragon has confirmed what many of its most ardent supporters thought. The show has remained intriguing and is still one of the best-rated shows on TV. Ahead of the show’s finale on Sunday, Aug. 4, HBO is now dealing with a leak of the episode.

Clips from the episode were leaked on social media on July 30 and appeared to be taken from a phone that was recording the episode on a screen. In response to the leaks, HBO issued a statement saying that it was on the hunt for spoilers.

Recommended Videos

“We are aware that clips from the House of the Dragon season finale have surfaced across social media platforms,” HBO said. “The clips were posted after an unintentional release from an international third-party distributor. HBO is aggressively monitoring and removing clips from the internet, and fans can watch the episode in its entirety this Sunday night on HBO and Max.”

This incident is a perfect replay of the season 1 finale, which also leaked online ahead of its official release. Game of Thrones had a similar issue throughout its run. The high profile of both shows understandably makes them major targets for leaks, and HBO has been unable to fully solve the problem. Part of the reason for that problem is that HBO has dozens of international partners who need to subtitle or dub episodes prior to their official release. It’s usually as part of this process that leaks occur.

Fortunately, the low quality of the footage means that most fans will just wait for the epsiode to actually air. Will Rhaenyra get one step closer to the Iron Throne? You only have to wait a few days to find out.

Topics

Streaming

Contributor

Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…

Culture

‘Ted Lasso’ will return for a fourth season with at least some cast members returning

The new season will apparently see Ted coaching a women's team

The cast of Ted Lasso

After years of speculation about whether Ted Lasso would be back or not, Apple TV+ has confirmed that a fourth season of Ted Lasso is on the way. The show's third season seemed like it might be a conclusion, but it seems that at least Jason Sudeikis's central character will be back, although it's unclear who from the cast of the first three seasons will be joining him.

"Ted Lasso has been nothing short of a juggernaut, inspiring a passionate fan base all over the world, and delivering endless joy and laughter, all while spreading kindness, compassion and unwavering belief," Matt Cherniss, head of Apple TV+ programming, said in a statement. "Everyone at Apple is thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Jason and the brilliant creative minds behind this show."

Culture

Dark, thrilling, and a bit twisted: 8 shows like Dexter to keep you hooked

Dexter isn't the only likable homicidal maniac to watch on TV

Michael C. Hall in Dexter

While most of the time, people are infatuated with true crime series and depressing recollections of real serial killers on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, others want something a little less intense. The Dexter franchise has provided that alternate universe for those who want to dive into the homicidal genre while still being able to root for the psycho at the center of the drama. Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter analyst who uses his intellect and inside information while working for the police department in Miami to solve crimes as a vigilante. His solution to curing South Florida's murder problem? Killing the bad guys himself.

Dexter's popularity throughout the 2000s and 2010s has led to several spinoff series. Dexter: Original Sin, Dexter: New Blood, and Dexter: Resurrection are the three shows that have extended Dexter's story to varying degrees of success. Some fans are starting to get tired of the Dexter franchise, but they still want the thrill of the original show (and that includes me). If you're one of those people. like me, it's time to check out these shows like Dexter to feed your dark passenger.

Culture

‘Reacher’ season 3 scored more than 50 million viewers in under three weeks

The show was renewed for a fourth season before the third even premiered.

Alan Ritchson in Reacher

If you didn't already know that Reacher was one of Amazon's biggest hits, they just went out of their way to confirm it. According to reporting in Variety, the show's third season earned 54.6 million viewers in the first 19 days following its release, making it the most watched returning series in the streamer's history (it's up 0.5% from Reacher season 2).

Reacher is also the most-watched show on Prime Video since Fallout debuted in 2024. Amazon was also quick to add that more than half of Reacher's audience is international, including particular spikes in performance in Brazil, Germany, and the U.K.