Even the offer of one month free isn't enough to stop people from pirating the new season of Arrested Development. Granted, not everyone has access to Netflix, which could explain at least some the pirated copies of the series that have been making their way onto the computers of fans. The series returned for its fourth season on Netflix on Sunday and has reportedly been downloaded more than 100,000 times within the first 24 hours.
Michael: Maybe you'll be inspired by the boat party tonight and start a career as a pirate.
Tobias: I haven't packed for that.
THR shared this bit of information, citing TorrentFreak editor Ernesto Van Der Sar. As the site notes, 100k+ isn't quite up there with the millions of downloads of Game of Thrones' second season premiere, but it's apparently up above the average shows' piracy numbers. As mentioned, at least some of that might be attributed to availability. That's known to be a factor with piracy, as it may not always be about an unwillingness to pay for a movie or TV show as it is the unwillingness to wait for it to become available in their region, which could very well be the case for Arrested Development.
The fourth season was made available to Netflix subscribers in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Latin America, Brazil and the Nordics. While that covers a broader audience than the average U.S. cable series probably has in its initial run, it still leaves the rest of the world waiting for a chance to see the new season, and some people might not be willing to hold out for Netflix to expand to their area in order to see if Season 4 was worth the wait.. Not that this excuses piracy, but it could play a factor in the situation, especially when we consider that Netflix does offer that month-free incentive for new subscribers. Combining that offer with the fact that the service debuts their shows a season at a time and there's no reason someone with access to Netflix should have to steal it.
Pirating's not funny, kids. Unless you're Tobias.
Speaking of theft, THR, pointed out one of the running gags in the series - which you may have noticed - is a watermark for "Showstealer Pro Trial Version" over the flashbacks that feature old clips from the first three seasons. The joke there is that the editing team found a way around obtaining the rights from Fox for the old episodes by ripping them from the DVDs. There's even a website for the software, which includes a testimonial from Mitch Hurwitz.
