The season three premiere of Homeland is one of the most anticipated of the fall season, but some fans have already got a look at it, since it leaked online Monday.
TorrentFreak, which tracks online piracy, reported that an early workprint version of the episode leaked on Labor Day. Within hours, the file reached over 100,000 downloads. As this is a workprint, the version featured few visual effects and was missing the opening titles. It is assumed that the person responsible for the leak must have been close to the production, since review copies that are sent out to reporters are usually the finished versions.
As Deadline notes, the press has already received screeners for the Homeland season three premiere. Showtime handed out several copies during the Television Critics Association Press Tour last month.
The show is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, which Deadline says already has its anti-piracy team investigating the issue.
Homeland starts on Showtime on Sept. 29, when you can check out the completed episode. The show is up for several Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor (Damian Lewis), Outstanding Lead Actress (Claire Danes) and Outstanding Drama Series.
Fox has experience dealing with major leaks in the past. In 2009, a workprint version of Wolverine and the studio brought in the FBI to investigate. It was traced to a New York resident who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail.
image: CBS/Showtime