Apple TV+ has sensationally pulled its forthcoming French thriller The Hunt (Traqués) from its December release schedule in the week leading up to its highly-anticipated bow. The sudden removal has been linked to the severe allegations of plagiarism levelled against the series' creator and director, Cédric Anger. The six-part drama, starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent, was set to begin on Wednesday December 3, but the streaming giant has now wiped all promotional materials from its site, placing the series in indefinite limbo as a formal investigation gets underway.
The bombshell stems from claims that The Hunt closely follows the plot of the 1973 Douglas Fairbairn novel Shoot, which was previously adapted into a 1976 film. French media expert Clement Garin first surfaced the accusations, noting the striking narrative parallels.
The Hunt's logline describes a group of longtime friends on a weekend hunting trip who are attacked by a rival group. After one of their party is shot, they retaliate, manage to escape and choose to keep the violent encounter a secret. Protagonist Franck, played by Magimel, then becomes intensely paranoid, convinced he and his friends are being stalked by the rival hunters seeking revenge.
Goodreads' description of Shoot outlines an almost identical premise: the novel follows Rex and his group of friends who encounter hostile hunters during a wilderness trip, resulting in a fatal exchange of gunfire. Upon returning home, Rex also grows increasingly anxious and prepares for another confrontation with the rival group who he believes will retaliate. In response to the scandal, French producer Gaumont confirmed on November 25 that the series has been “temporarily postponed” while they conduct a “thorough review” into the production. “We take intellectual property matters very seriously,” the company told a news portal. Though the French-language thriller, which also stars Mélanie Laurent, is reportedly fully filmed and ready for broadcast, its future now hangs in the balance as the plagiarism probe continues.
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