It appears that some controversy has arisen for one of Apple TV+’s newest series, with the show being pulled from the streamer just three days before its scheduled premiere. Allegations of plagiarism are now trailing after the thriller, and it seems that Apple TV+ is taking the allegations very seriously. While similar narratives are sure to exist across all media, the similarities between these two are way too close for comfort.
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Creator and director of the new French-language show, The Hunt, Cédric Anger, has officially been accused of plagiarizing the plot for the series from a 1973 novel titled Shoot by author Douglas Fairbairn, which had already been adapted into the movie Shoot. The film adaptation of the novel came out in 1976. The allegations of IP theft were first made by Clement Garin, a French media insider.
The Similarities Between The Two Are More Than Obvious
Production company Gaumont spoke with Variety, saying, “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.” And the similarities between the two stories are staggering. The summary for The Hunt reads: “Franck 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.”
And the synopsis of Shoot is nearly identical in its themes, though much more long-winded: “Rex is an uber-macho hunter who, together with four equally testosterone-addled buddies, embarks on a hunting trip in the Canadian wilderness. But their weekend is cut short by a rival band of hunters they encounter in the forest, one of whom inexplicably takes a potshot at Rex’s party and grazes the head of one of his buddies. Another of Rex’s friends returns fire, killing the shooter. From there, Rex and company scurry off and head back to civilization. Rex decides not to contact the authorities about the killing, betting the rival hunters will react the same way. To confirm this, he looks up the murdered man’s identity and tracks down his widow. She reveals that her deceased hubbie’s buddies claim he was killed by a ‘stray bullet.’ This doesn’t entirely satisfy Rex, however, who becomes convinced that the dead man’s companions are going to come after him and his friends. Rex makes plans to head back to the scene of the crime the following Saturday, where he’s positive the rival hunters will be waiting for them. He recruits a small army and a veritable arsenal of firepower as accompaniment. The fateful day arrives. Rex and his mini-army, guns at the ready, set out into the now snow-covered forest. It appears deserted. Appearances, however, can be deceiving, and before the day is done, lots of guns–true to Rex’s predictions–will be fired.”
The Hunt, or Traqués, was set to star Damien Bonnard, Manuel Guillot, Cédric Appietto, Angelyna Danabe Mignot, Paul Beaurepaire, Yann Goven, Sarah Pachoud and Patrick de Vallette, and was set to air on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Were you planning to watch The Hunt? Let us know in the comments, and then head over and check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
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Image courtesy of Monolith Productions, Nightdive Studios, Warner Bros. Games, and Atari
