Almost everyone knows that a hacker group calling themselves “The Dark Overlord” released the first ten episodes of Orange Is the New Black’s fifth season back in April.
After Netflix refused to hand over the demanded ransom (and why would they), TDO went ahead and uploaded the first ten episodes to a pirating website.
It wasn’t long after that when new threats started popping up via the group’s social media pages. Amongst the several specifically named TV networks, TDO declared ABC as their next official target.
Soon after – with yet again no ransom paid – the hacker group leaked episodes of an upcoming, completely unaired TV show. This time it was ABC’s game show (Steve Harvey’s) Funderdome.
The release came with a message:
“Time to play another round. We’re following through on our threats as we always do. We firmly believe that honesty and determination are the two most important factors of any business. If you prefer your meat bloody, we’re serving it bloody as can be: We’re bringing another piece from the world of unaired mainstream media content.”
While The Dark Overlord could enjoy their victory dance for a moment – after all, they did go through with their threats – the triumph was still short lived. In the end, it came down to one thing . . . who actually wants to download Steve Harvey’s Funderdome?
The general population views the ABC game show as one of those shows that you’ll watch if it’s on. Very few people will actually go out of their way to illegally download a game show, of all things!
Yet, despite their lack of paid ransoms, TDO is still firm on their foundation. They recently made a public statement explaining,
“Hollywood is under attack, and we’re at the forefront of this most recent offensive. We’re not in the business to scare anyone. We’re in the business of earning vast amounts of internet money.”
One can only wonder if their next target will be something actually worth watching early.