'The Walking Dead' Dethrones 'Game of Thrones' as Most Pirated Show of 2018

Although The Walking Dead saw the lowest ratings in its nine-season run in 2018, the AMC show seemingly got many of its viewers from illegal downloads instead. As the most recent season included major plotlines, such as the departure of protagonist Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the show came in first as the most pirated of the year.

According to TorrentFreak, the series dethroned Game of Thrones, the HBO series which held the title for six consecutive years. Given new episodes of GoT haven’t premiered since Aug. 2017, it’s not too much of a shock it didn’t come in first place this year. However, it didn’t even make the top ten! TWD had been a runner-up to GoT every year since 2014, just waiting for the top spot.

The most-downloaded shows of 2018 from BitTorrent are as followed:

1. The Walking Dead

2. The Flash

3. The Big Bang Theory

4. Vikings

5. Titans

6. Arrow

7. Supernatural

8. Westworld

9. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

10. Suits

The Walking Dead’s official Twitter has reacted to the news, clearly proud of the accomplishment.

They should enjoy it now, because as Game of Thrones returns for its final season this April, 2019 will be full of obsessively torrenting the show across the globe.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.