The new fall TV season starts now. Whether the networks like it or not.

Upcoming episodes of the dope dramedy Weeds, the serial-killer-with-a-heart-of-gold series Dexter and newcomers Brotherhood, Californication and The Sarah Connor Chronicles started popping up on Internet file-sharing sites this week, even though the shows are still weeks or months from their broadcast premieres.

It's common practice for networks to distribute advance screener DVDs of new shows to media. So, are journalists currently in L.A. for the Television Critics Association Tour now under lockdown in their swanky hotels while this leak is probed? Is Sun Media's Bill Harris being denied his star-studded parties and shrimp buffets while the networks dispatch interrogation experts with polygraphs?

Hardly. In fact, some cynical souls might suggest that these "leaks" are actually perpetrated by the American networks themselves. Or, that the networks sometimes turn a blind eye to the practice because of the advance buzz it can help generate for new shows.

Let's say that season two of the superb Showtime series Dexter (premiering Sept. 30 on The Movie Network and Movie Central in Canada) kicks off with an especially gripping episode. While it might not get tons of advance attention in the press, buzz generated by the leaked copies now available online could ignite viewer curiosity in the series. Is that such a bad thing?

While networks don't condone this kind of illegal activity, "from a publicity standpoint, it can have benefits," says Deborah Wilson, vice-president of communications for Astral Media's The Movie Network.

The first three new episodes of the Mary-Louise Parker-starring Weeds can now be downloaded via BitTorrent tracker sites, literally months in advance of the season's Oct. 10 Canadian premiere on Showcase. But it's hard to say if this will ultimately have an impact -- good or bad -- on the show's ratings.

"There's no way of knowing for certain whether this activity will erode our audience by the time season three of Weeds launches," says Tara Ellis, vice-president of content for Showcase, adding that the network does everything it can to curtail copyright infringement.

That being said, "there's no doubt that this kind of activity can create a lot of buzz, especially given the addictive nature of this series."

Buzz? Addictive? Leave the puns to us. And leave the shrimp to the critics.