AppleTV+ Pulls French Series The Hunt Following Plagiarism Allegations
AppleTV+ has halted the release of its upcoming French thriller series, The Hunt, after claims of plagiarism surfaced against the production. The series, spearheaded by Cédric Anger and starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent, was pulled from the streaming platform earlier this week as the production company investigates the allegations.
The controversy centers around similarities between The Hunt and Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel, Shoot, which was adapted into a 1976 film of the same name. French media journalist Clément Garin frist reported the claims on his Substack, detailing striking parallels in plot points. Both narratives follow a group of friends on a hunting trip who become the targets of another group,leading to a deadly encounter and subsequent fear of retribution. A synopsis of The Hunt described a similar scenario: friends targeted during a hunt, a shootout, and a growing sense of being tracked. Descriptions of Shoot reveal a plot where a hunting trip escalates after a shooting, prompting the group to conceal the incident from authorities while anticipating a retaliatory attack.
Gaumont, the production company behind The Hunt, released a statement acknowledging the concerns and stating they are “currently conducting a thorough review to address any questions related to our production,” adding that they “take intellectual property matters very seriously.” The future of the series remains uncertain pending the outcome of the examination.
