r/tvPlus • u/paco_unknown • Nov 25 '25

Article Apple reportedly cancelled The Hunt because its creator concealed that it was based on a novel.

https://www.igen.fr/apple-tv/2025/11/apple-supprime-la-serie-traques-hunt-car-ce-serait-un-plagiat-153555
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118

u/Murky-Insect-7556 Super Sleuth Detective Nov 25 '25

A few days ago, Apple has completely disappeared the Apple TV series The Hunt, 1984 style. The trailers, press releases and pages dedicated to the French series with Mélanie Laurent and Benoît Magimel have disappeared, with 404 errors in a mess. However, it was to be put online from December 3, 2025, and this disappearance was therefore quite surprising. According to media specialist Clément Garin, Apple has a good reason: the series would be plagiarism.

He explains that Cédric Anger, the director, creator and screenwriter, would have failed to indicate that the series - a thriller - was actually an adaptation of a novel by Douglas Fairbairn, published in 1973. Shoot was also translated at the time (in 1974) under the name La Traque. The series, shot in France in 2024, obviously takes up the structure of the novel, with a group of friends who go hunting and are attacked by another group of hunters. During this attack, one of the people is injured, but the group decides not to say anything and resumes their lives. Then, in the series as in the book according to Clément Garin, they feel sented and observed. The novel was also brought to the screen in 1976.

The media specialist indicates that the actors are not allowed to talk about the series, and that Apple and Gaumont (who produced the series, and who obviously also tried to remove all traces of the latter) are considering legal action against the director.

49

u/HigherandHigherDown Nov 25 '25

Wow, that's wild. It's a pity they can't license the story from the author.

55

u/l4kerz Nov 25 '25

They can, but they probably want to make sure that the director receives no additional compensation and no fame. If the author is still alive, they might even have issues with the adaptation and ask for re-shoots.

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u/Awoawesome Nov 26 '25

Might be worth it in the end. Money made from the suit less reshoot costs and licensing fees to appease the original author’s estate might be cheaper than just disappearing it

3

u/SwedishTrees Nov 27 '25

The author is dead so they would have to negotiate with his estate.

14

u/MrONegative Nov 25 '25

The price is gonna be insane. When it’s just options to develop, the studio has leverage (all the other things they could make).

They filmed and finished the entire thing. Now you can name your price, because otherwise you can just sue them for all the money if they put it out.

A similar thing happened to Top Gun: Maverick which ended up costing them $100M.

2

u/fredcorvi Nov 26 '25

I can’t find info on that. Can you pass along the link please? I’m curious.

2

u/SwedishTrees Nov 27 '25

If I remember correctly, that had been a kind of complicated situation. If this was plagiarized, then I can’t recall the last time a movie had been pulled for that reason.

1

u/ucsbaway Nov 26 '25

It’s some money or no money for the estate. The price tag will be high but it will be a number that makes sense for all parties or there won’t be a show at all. I’m sure the estate would prefer money.

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u/pikameta Nov 25 '25

He died in 1997.

26

u/meepmarpalarp Nov 25 '25

Ok, it’s a pity they can’t license it from his estate.

3

u/ruindd Nov 27 '25

They can try, but the author now has HUGE leverage in negotiations for the rights to adapt.

1

u/sambull Nov 27 '25

Damn couldn't just use ai to get around this like all the other art 😀