A security breach at one of Netflix's production partners caused as-yet-unreleased episodes of popular shows to leak online this week.
“One of our post-production partners has been compromised and images from several of our titles have unfortunately been leaked online,” Netflix said in a statement Friday. “Our team is taking aggressive action to have them removed.”
Netflix declined to comment on which titles were affected, but tech news outlet IGN reported Thursday that the leak included episodes from the second season of the animated series “Arcane,” based on the world of the popular video game “League of Legends.” The second season is set to premiere on Netflix in November.
The third season of the popular coming-of-age series “Heartstopper,” scheduled for release on October 3, has also been leaked, according to What's on Netflix.
Burbank-based post-production company Iyuno, which provides dubbing and subtitling services, said in a statement that it is “aware of a recent security issue involving access to sensitive content.”
“Protecting our customers’ confidentiality and ensuring the security of their content is our top priority,” Iyuno said. “We are actively investigating this security breach to mitigate potential risks and identify responsible parties. When there are material changes or information, we will make further statements.”
Leaks of unreleased shows are a source of frustration for companies and the people who work on the shows. Pirated versions of shows cannibalize streaming platforms' audiences, especially if they are released early.
Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which streams anime series and movies, was recently hit by the leak of “Re:ZERO” Season 3, which was set to release in October, according to IGN.
“We are aware of a content leak ahead of the launch of one of our fall series,” Crunchyroll said in a statement. “We have opened an investigation to identify the source of this leak and our team is taking steps to have it removed.”
