'Homeland' Season 3 Premiere Episode 1 Leak Online / 100,000 Downloads and Counting / Season 3 Air Date September 29 on Showtime [TRAILER]

Homeland fans now don't have to wait three weeks to catch the Season 3 premiere. Episode 1 was scheduled is scheduled for a September 29 air date on Showtime, but after being leaked online, over 100,000 have already downloaded from torrent sites across the Web.

Likely to have been leaked by someone involved in post-production for the series, websites featuring episode 1 insist the download is a "workprint," which means the copy isn't finished yet.

While some believe the leak could be damaging for Season 3 premiere ratings on Showtime, some think free promotion for episode 1 could do more good than harm for the popular series.

"While the early sampling could conceivably eat into the audience that might otherwise subscribe to Showtime, another school of thought dictates that such a sneak peek has promotional power, spreading the word in advance of the premiere." [Variety].

Showtime has yet to comment on the leak but benefit by the pirated publicity.

The Web site adds: "In recent months several TV insiders have gone on the record stating that piracy may actually help TV-shows, because of word-of-mouth promotion it generates."

The Homeland Season 3 premiere is set for September 29 at 9 PM ET on Showtime.

Check out the official trailer for Homeland Season 3.