Today, Apple announced that The Hunt, which was produced by French studio Gaumont and directed by Cédric Anger, is set to premiere on March 4th. The news comes after months of delays that began when French media reporter Clement Garin noted a number of striking similarities between The Hunt (which Anger originally sold as an original story of his own creation) and Shoot, Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel about two groups of hunters, which was also adapted into a 1976 film.
Both The Hunt and Shoot revolve around a group of hunters who start to believe that another group of hunters are coming after them during an excursion out into the wilderness. Though The Hunt was originally scheduled to hit Apple TV on December 3rd, 2025, the plagiarism accusations prompted Apple TV to put the premiere on hold while Gaumont launched an internal investigation to determine how the production was able to make it so far along without anyone noticing its similarities to shoot.
In a statement to Deadline, Gaumont acknowledged that it has determined that The Hunt is “based on an existing work,” which is now being reflected in Apple’s most recent press release about the show. Apple refers to The Hunt as a “series by Cédric Anger based on the novel ‘Shoot’ by Douglas Fairbairn.”
“As soon as this information came to its attention, Gaumont, the series’ producer, immediately took the necessary steps to identify the rights holders, and obtain the required authorizations,” Gaumont said. “Respect for works and authors’ rights is a fundamental principle for Gaumont, which can only be exercised with the trust and transparency of creative artists.”
While Apple seems to have sorted out The Hunt’s situation, the streamer has yet to provide any real updates about The Savant, its previously announced crime drama about investigators fighting domestic terrorists whose premiere was postponed after the Charlie Kirk shooting. The Hunt may be a sign that Apple has been working to get its release slate back on track, but it might still be a while before The Savant sees the light of day.
