Apple TV has abruptly removed its upcoming French-language thriller series The Hunt (original title: Traqués, formerly A l’ombre des forêts) from the platform mere days before its scheduled global debut on December 3, 2025.
The six-episode series, created and directed by César Award-nominated filmmaker Cédric Anger (Next Time I’ll Aim for the Heart), stars acclaimed actors Benoît Magimel (Pacifiction) as Franck and Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) as his wife Krystel. Produced by Gaumont (the studio behind hits like Lupin), The Hunt was poised to be Apple TV+’s latest international original, following in the footsteps of French successes such as Liaison and Drops of God.
The premise promised a tense, survival-driven story: Franck and his longtime friends head out for a routine weekend hunting trip in the forests, only to encounter a rival group of hunters who inexplicably turn violent, targeting them with gunfire. After retaliating and barely escaping, the friends attempt to keep the incident secret – but soon realize they are being stalked and hunted for revenge.
Apple had built considerable hype around the show. In September 2025, the company released first-look images and confirmed the December 3 premiere date, with the first two episodes dropping together followed by weekly releases through December 31. Trailers were uploaded to YouTube, and the series appeared prominently in the Apple TV app’s “Coming Soon” sections worldwide.Now, all that has vanished without a trace – or at least, almost all of it.
As of November 20, The Hunt is no longer listed in the Apple TV app. Most promotional materials, press releases, and references have been scrubbed from Apple’s official TV press site. Trailers on the main Apple TV YouTube channels have been deleted or set to private, though some remain accessible on regional channels in Australia, Canada, and Mexico. One lingering June 2024 press release under the show’s original French title still exists, like a digital ghost refusing to be exorcised.
Apple has offered no official statement on the sudden removal, leaving speculation to run rampant. This isn’t the first time the streamer has yanked a high-profile title at the eleventh hour. Just weeks ago, the premiere of another series, Savant, was postponed shortly before launch – amid unconfirmed rumors linking the decision to sensitivity around real-world events, including the reported assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Whether The Hunt’s disappearance stems from similar concerns remains unknown. The show’s violent themes involving firearms and revenge in a hunting context could potentially raise eyebrows in some quarters, but no evidence has surfaced tying it to any specific incident or backlash.
For now, only questions remain: Will The Hunt resurface with a delayed premiere? Has it been indefinitely shelved or even canceled outright? Apple’s silence only fuels the mystery, turning what was meant to be a chilling on-screen thriller into a real-life enigma.
MacDailyNews Take: Makes us want to see The Hunt even more now -maybe that’s the point?
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