- Apple TV pulls ‘The Hunt’ just a week before its scheduled release amid plagiarism allegations.
- The series’ plot is claimed to resemble the 1973 novel ‘Shoot’, leading to a review by French producer Gaumont.
- Fans express disappointment and frustration over the delay, with many criticising the situation online.
Apple TV Plus viewers have been left baffled as the highly anticipated new French thriller, The Hunt, is shelved just a week before its release.
The upcoming series – created by Cedric Anger and starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent – follows Franck (Magimel) and his group of friends who become embroiled in an inexplicable shooting confrontation with another party while out hunting, which leaves one man down.
As they attempt to return to normal, ‘over the next few days, he starts to feel like he and his friends are being watched, or worse, tracked by hunters who are now hell-bent on revenge.’
The series was promoted as Apple TV’s main end-of-year release (originally dropping on December 3).
But eagle-eyed fans noticed that the show was taken down from the Coming Soon section on the Apple TV and promotional material, including the trailer removed from the site and social media.
First reported by French journalist Clement Garin, it appears the showrunner has been accused of plagiarism, with claims that he ripped off the 1973 novel Shoot by Douglas Fairbairn, which was adapted into a movie in 1976.
French producer Gaumont confirmed the release has been halted as they investigate the allegations of plagiarism.
In a statement to Variety, they said: ‘The broadcast of our series The Hunt has been temporarily postponed. We are currently conducting a thorough review to address any questions related to our production. We take intellectual property matters very seriously.’
The synopsis for Shoot, which is the book at the centre of the plagiarism allegations, says it follows ‘four equally testosterone-addled buddies’ who encounter a ‘rival band of hunters’ on their trip, who start shooting at them, resulting in the murder of one of the rival party.
After returning home, the lead character, Rex, grows increasingly paranoid that the rival group isn’t finished with them and recruits a ramshackle army of men to confront them once more, guns ablazing.
Deadline reports that the novel had not been on Apple TV or Gaumont’s radar until recently, after shooting and post-production were completed.
Since the author of the book died in 1997, any discussion over next steps would likely take place through his estate – if there are to be any.
The unexpected delay has left fans disgruntled.
‘How… does that even happen?’ Michaelcollado wrote on X.
Over on Reddit, MuptonBossman called it ‘a mess’ while ThomasBenjaminClark said ‘this stinks’.
‘I was looking forward to this show. This is horrible,’ John271095 added and DianaGorgon called it ‘shockingly incompetent’.
This is not the only trouble Apple has faced with the release of its original shows.
Jessica Chastain’s new high-octane political thriller about domestic extremists, The Savant, was meant to come out at the end of September but was indefinitely postponed after right-winger Charlie Kirk was shot dead.
At the time, Jessica released a statement saying she and Apple were ‘not aligned on the decision to pause the release of The Savant.’
Listing various high-profile assassinations and assassination attempts in the US in recent years, she concluded: ‘I’ve never shied away from difficult subjects, and while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is.
‘The Savant is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honouring their courage feels more urgent than ever.’
There is still no update on when it might be released.
Metro has reached out to Apple TV for comment.
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