The inception and early years of The Pirate Bay are an intriguing chapter of the Internet’s history.
While most pirate sites hid in the shadows, Pirate Bay’s founders were public figures, who openly taunted the entertainment industries.
This chapter didn’t end as planned for Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde, and Gotffrid Svartholm, who were eventually sentenced to prison. By then, however, they had already sparked a digital and political revolution of which the impact is still felt today.
Some have argued that without the meteoric rise of the notorious torrent site, the entertainment industries would not have embraced services such as Netflix and Spotify so easily.
Pirate Bay TV Series
Over the years, a lot has been said and written about TPB and the closely affiliated pro-culture organization Piratbyrån. Some of these stories will soon be transformed into a TV drama written by Piotr Marciniak and directed by Jens Sjögren, who also made the “I am Zlatan” documentary.
Sjögren is humbled to take on this project and show how TPB changed the world. The director, who describes himself as an old punk, plans to tell the story without making ethical judgments. Reading between the lines, however, it’s easy to conclude that there’s admiration for what TPB has achieved.
“As an adult, you can think that you are so fucking involved in the match, but just like with the climate movement, it was the youth who got to teach the old dogs to sit,” Sjögren tells SVT, commenting in the news.
“This was the key that unlocked all information for an entire generation. At the same time, we had officials at Government Offices who could barely send emails to each other. It is a story about a Sweden that faced a new reality,” the director adds.
Peter Sunde is Flattered
Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde informs TorrentFreak that he’s not directly involved in the TV drama. He’s flattered, however, and hopes that the story will capture the true TPB spirit.
“It’s flattering, and a bit nerve-racking, that there’s interest in making a series about TPB. I think it’s an important story and if they get into production I hope they’ll do it justice – and not make me look like too much of a fool,” he says.
Peter discussed the TV project idea with the show’s writer Piotr Marciniak a few years ago but decided to go his own way. TPB’s co-founder believes that the TV series has a great team but he plans to focus on his own video project.
Another TPB Project
Instead of focusing on the known story, Peter plans to highlight what happened behind the scenes. This includes many non-filesharing-related things that made TPB what it was and still is today.
“To make the story justice I feel there needs to be a more personal touch into making it: TPB for me is techno, love, drugs, and Foucault. I get that we were great at strategically making the media fall for our pranks and that’s still fun, but the story was so much more,” Sunde tells us.
Marciniak and Sjögren’s TV series about The Pirate Bay is developed by SVT Drama and B-Reel Films and will air on the public broadcaster SVT. The six-part series will start recording in the autumn of 2022.
Further details of Sunde’s plans have yet to be released but TPB’s co-founder is looking forward to seeing both projects come to fruition.
“I am really hoping that both projects turn out great, and hopefully they’ll spark some debate again about the important issue: who owns and controls our internet and our cultural heritage,” Sunde concludes.
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TPB bus Photo by Andie Nordgren
