Hunted

It's very obvious that a lot of this show is stage-managed. 'New associates' (aka total strangers) mysteriously pull up and offer the fugitives lifts, even give them refuge in their homes. The hunters know all sorts of stuff that they could not logically know - or, then again, suddenly don't know stuff that you would think they would. The hunted make moves that appear completely random. And, most mysterious and improbable of all, everybody seems to want to go to Birmingham. There's a pretty big product placement angle and, just as they make a point of featuring certain hotels, it looks as though Birmingham council are paying people to go there. After all, it's the only way anybody would...

It's this close to being a completely pointless fake. The only thing that vouches for the show's authenticity is the obviously genuine reactions of both hunters and hunted. But that doesn't mean that situations are not being set up between them by the producers, they clearly are. And I'm 99% certain that the winner is picked beforehand. In fact, we had them picked out at an early stage - not because they were particularly smart or anything, but because they were the type of person that the show obviously wants to win.

Awful, completely anti-climatic and ruined the entire experience. Clearly scripted and has ruined all future viewing for myself

Very thrilling and exciting. One of the best shows ever. 😀. I would recommend this to everyone. It is funny watching the people get caught or outsmarting the hunters. The hunters are also quite clever.

Here are the rules:

They have a 30 minute head start. They can take whatever they can carry including a tent etc. They have 28 days to get to the designated end location. They must not break the law. During active hours of hunting they must keep on the move and change location regularly – no hiding in the sewer for the entire time. They must attempt to throw the hunters off their scent – and do their best to decoy them. They need to make use of a support network and they must make contact with family and friends. They have £250 in a bank account, only accessible in small amounts via an ATM. I believe they must get the money out regardless of whether its needed as a rule. They must take with them a cameraman.

We are never told the rules on the show (only on the website). This means the players are made to look stupid when choosing not to hide in an abandoned house for the duration, as that would be trespassing. They are required to call home which gives away their location, but it is edited to look as though they are being stupid and doing it out of impulse.

Also, the law rule is ignored as hitchhiking is illegal in this country but they happily ignore that.

Its an interesting show, but the rules need better clarification and explaining to the viewers so we understand the game more, if we are truly to do as they request and ask ourselves what would you do?

I really enjoyed the first few series of Hunters and originally gave it 8/10. However, in the last couple of series it's gone way downhill, and I agree with other reviewers that it now feels very scripted. For whatever reason, the contestants act far more stupid now than they ever did in earlier series and that just spoils it for me. Taunting the Hunters with video clips on social media certainly isn't real life; who on the run would actually do that? The cameraman following the hunted is a necessity for the programme and I understand that. I've downgraded my review to 4/10 now and won't be watching anymore future series.