Apple TV Pulls Series Days Before Premiere Due to Plagiarism Accusations

Apple TV has postponed its upcoming French-language thriller series The Hunt (Traqués) just a week before its planned Dec. 3 premiere due to accusations of plagiarism.

The Hunt‘s creator and director, Cédric Anger, has been accused of plagiarizing the story of his thriller from Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel “Shoot,” which was later adapted into the 1976 film of the same name starring Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine, Henry Silva and James Blendick, according to Apple Insider.

The allegations were first made public by French media expert Clement Garin, and prompted Apple TV to remove The Hunt from its lineup last week, removing all materials about the show from its site.

French producer Gaumont confirmed that The Hunt had been pulled amid an investigation into the claims, saying in a statement to Variety, “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 Hunt, which stars Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent, was originally set to air two episodes on Dec. 3, with another episode debuting weekly on Wednesdays through Dec. 31.

The show was reportedly set to follow the main structure of the original novel, which follows a group of friends whose weekend hunting trip goes awry when they’re attacked by a rival band of hunters in the woods. While the group stays quiet about the altercation upon their return to civilization, they suspect that they’re still being hunted.

The Hunt comes from executive producers Isabelle Degeorges, Clémentine Vaudaux, Alexis Barqueiro and Sidonie Dumas for Gaumont, and also stars Damien Bonnard, Manuel Guillot, Cédric Appietto, Angelyna Danabe Mignot, Paul Beaurepaire, Yann Goven, Sarah Pachoud and Patrick de Vallette.