The years passed and Spotnitz was talking to The X-Files star Gillian Anderson, who was visiting Los Angeles from London where she lives, and she asked, "Would you ever consider doing a show (in Britain)?".
[16] On 25 September 2012, it was reported that British screenwriter Ben Harris had joined the writing team in preparation for a second series pickup from BBC One and Cinemax.
[18] On 3 November 2012, it was reported that British screenwriter Claire Wilson had joined the writing team in preparation for a second series pickup from BBC One and Cinemax.
[19] However, on 14 November 2012, The Guardian reported that BBC One had decided not to commission a second series of Hunted, citing ratings declines as the primary reason.
[21] Cinemax has since announced that it is working with Frank Spotnitz to reboot the show, describing the current incarnation as "too expensive" to continue without BBC support.
[24][25][26] In early 2015, Frank Spotnitz stated that the series–and spinoff–had been officially cancelled by Cinemax, though he and George were open to continuing the project if it were to be picked up by another network.
[27] On 30 July 2013 HBO Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 via the Warner Archive Collection.
The critics' consensus reads, "A brisk, exciting spy thriller, Hunted sometimes feels familiar, but it's redeemed by smart, twisty plotting and an assured lead performance from Melissa George.
While he liked the plot, Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph was critical of the dialogue and acting: "The protagonist pouts constantly and came across more sulky teenager than troubled soul.
Spooks had Matthew MacFadyen and Peter Firth, 24 had Kiefer Sutherland, Homeland has Damian Lewis and Claire Danes.
Thus the three villains on display last week were a macho Arab, an inscrutable psychopath and a cockney gangster-turned-businessman, holding their faces in such ways as to convey, respectively, machismo, psychopathy, and tasty geezerness".
Locations like Istanbul were viewed as dangerous – ie, full of foreigners, particularly handsome Arabs in suits driving around as if they were in a BMW ad".
[42] On a more positive note, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, said the U.S. première had "lots of slick suspense, well-turned violence, and a delightful air of menace hanging over everything Sam does".
[43] Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post also had a favorable review of the U.S. premiere saying "To its credit, 'Hunted' doesn't take its profoundly disconnected characters and slap them into a slick, glitzy story about heroism in the face of greed.
It marries the doubt, regret and longing they feel into a chugging, twisty spy story about the cost of selling your soul one piece at a time".