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The high-profile Stan hostage comedy C*A*U*G*H*T* has been withdrawn from the world’s biggest television market in response to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas.
The satirical comedy about a group of Australian soldiers who are taken hostage while mounting a black-ops raid on the fictional small island nation of Behati-Prinsloo was due to be shopped around to international buyers at the annual International Co-Production and Entertainment Content Market – better known as MIPCOM – in Cannes, in the south of France, next week.
A bunch of Australian soldiers are supposedly taken hostage by freedom fighters on the fictional island of Behati-Prinsloo in the madcap satire C.A.U.G.H.T.Credit: Lisa Tomasetti
But Fremantle, which produced the series for Stan and has international sales rights, announced overnight that it was withdrawing the show from the market.
“In light of the current situation unfolding in Israel, we have taken the decision not to showcase C*A*U*G*H*T at MIPCOM this year,” a Fremantle spokesperson said. “At this time, our hearts and thoughts are with our colleagues and our partners in Israel, and all those affected.”
UK streaming service ITVX, meanwhile, has announced that its launch of the show – slated for Thursday – will be delayed.
C*A*U*G*H*T* was created by Australian actor-writer Kick Gurry, and born out of the experience of sharing a house in Los Angeles with fellow Aussie actors Lincoln Younes, Alexander England and Ben O’Toole in 2016 as they all auditioned for roles.
Fascinated by the idea that Americans were convinced everyone seems to love Australians, Gurry decided to put a bunch of his countrymen in “the wildest situation I could put them in and have them still exist as they would if they were on a footy trip or at a wedding”.
The scenario he came up with has the soldiers – played by the four former housemates – becoming internet sensations when the hostage video filmed by their captors goes viral.
Stan, which is owned, like this masthead, by Nine, boasted in its promotional material that the series had assembled “the biggest ensemble of Hollywood and home-grown talent in an Australian original television production”, with Sean Penn and Matthew Fox starring alongside locals Justine Clarke, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Rob Carlton and Jessica De Gouw.
Matthew Fox, one-time star of Lost and Party of Five, stars in the series.Credit: Stan
A host of stars from the Nine stable – including Karl Stefanovic, Allison Langdon and Brooke Boney – make cameos, as do Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Vikings star Travis Fimmel. The series debuted on Stan on September 26 to mixed reviews.
Stan was contacted for comment.
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