Apple TV+ has made a sudden and unexpected decision to remove its upcoming French thriller, The Hunt (titled Traqués in French), from its December release schedule. This abrupt change comes in response to serious allegations of plagiarism, asserting that the series' storyline was lifted directly from Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel, Shoot, which was previously adapted into a film in 1976.

The accusations were initially brought to public attention by French media expert Clement Garin and subsequently reported by Apple Insider. Following these reports, French production company Gaumont, responsible for the series, swiftly confirmed that the show has been temporarily shelved while a thorough internal investigation is conducted. In a statement provided to Variety, Gaumont articulated their commitment to addressing these concerns: “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 official logline for The Hunt describes a compelling narrative: “Franck (Magimel) and his longtime friends enjoy spending their weekends hunting together, but one Sunday, they come across another group of hunters who start targeting them without explanation. When one of their party is shot, Franck’s friends strike back, sending an attacker to the ground. Barely managing to escape, the four friends keep the event a secret. Franck tries to go back to his life as usual alongside his wife Krystel (Laurent), but in 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.”

However, the striking similarity of this plot to Fairbairn’s novel is at the core of the controversy. For comparison, the Goodreads description of Shoot details a very similar premise: “Rex is an uber-macho hunter who… embarks on a hunting trip in the Canadian wilderness. But their weekend is cut short by a rival band of hunters who… graze the head of one of his buddies. Another of Rex’s friends returns fire, killing the shooter… Rex decides not to contact the authorities… but becomes convinced that the dead man’s companions are going to come after him and his friends… He recruits a small army and a veritable arsenal of firepower... Appearances, however, can be deceiving, and before the day is done lots of guns… will be fired.” The near-identical nature of these two narratives forms the basis of the plagiarism claims.

Originally, the eight-episode thriller was scheduled for a global premiere on Wednesday, December 3, with an initial launch of two episodes, followed by weekly releases through December 31. As a result of these serious allegations and the ongoing investigation, the highly anticipated series now remains indefinitely stuck in limbo.