Apple TV’s “The Hunt” plagiarism investigation has ended after three months, and now there’s a debut date for the thriller.
The six-part French-language drama was scheduled to begin on December 3, 2025. It disappeared from Apple’s platform in late November after reports that it may have been mislabeled as an original work.
Apple removed Hunting from listings and promotional placements days before the premiere without public explanation. Subsequent reports suggested that the series bears significant similarities to Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel Shoot and the 1976 American-Canadian film adaptation of the same name.
The project was originally sold as an original work by director Cedric Anger. After learning of the alleged overlap, Apple informed the manufacturer Gaumont and suspended the release roughly two weeks prior to launch while the production company conducted an internal review.
Rights secured, credits updated
According to PeriodGaumont identified the rights holder for Fairbairn’s novel and secured the necessary permissions. The series is now officially billed as based on Shootand updated subtitles reflecting the source material have been restored on Apple’s website and app.
The novel was previously adapted into a feature film directed by Harvey Hart and written by Richard Berg. Fairbairn died in 1997.
Benoit Magimel plays Franck, a man whose weekend hunting trip with his friends turns violent when another group starts targeting them. Melanie Laurent stars alongside his wife, Damien Bonnard, Manuel Guillot, Cedric Appietto and Frederic Maranber also appear in the series.
The first two episodes will premiere worldwide on March 4th, followed by weekly installments until April 1st.
What this means for Apple
Dragging a completed series days before launch is costly. Marketing campaigns and distribution placements are typically locked months in advance, making a late hiatus financially and operationally disruptive.
Apple decided to hold off on the release rather than risk potential intellectual property litigation. The decision is in line with how the company is positioning Apple TV as a tightly managed service with careful oversight of branding and rights.
As streaming platforms expand their international acquisition strategies, the verification of source material and adaptation rights has become more complex. This episode underscores the legal and reputational risk of labeling a project as original without clear documentation of the underlying intellectual property.
Apple is now moving forward with repaired credits and a firm stance on how it handles intellectual property disputes, signaling that rights clarity takes precedence over a launch schedule.