Hannibal season 3 will be the last meal shared with NBC, but the series may go elsewhere.
Update (July 9): Bryan Fuller revealed to fans on Twitter this afternoon that both Netflix and Amazon have passed on picking up the series for season 4. Hulu, are you hearing this?
@MikeBarbre I'M SORRY TO REPORT @amazon AND @netflix HAVE PASSED ON #HANNIBAL S4 BUT WE'RE STILL INVESTIGATING POSSIBILITIES
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) July 6, 2015
Hannibal is not dead in the water yet, but things are not looking good for the series.
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Original story (June 22): Confirmed to BuzzFeed today, NBC has decided not to renew the horror series, Hannibal. The series will finish its third season at the network as planned.
Hannibal was adapted for television by Bryan Fuller from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, the story from which the character originated. It follows Hannibal Lecter’s (Mads Mikkelson) relationship with FBI criminal profiler, Will Graham (Hugh Dancy).
Creator and showrunner Bryan Fuller had this to say, “NBC has allowed us to craft a television series that no other broadcast network would have dared, and kept us on the air for three seasons despite Cancellation Bear Chow ratings and images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser Standards & Practices enforcers. Jen Salke and her team have been fantastic partners and creatively supportive beyond measure. Hannibal is finishing his last course at NBC’s table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again. And personally, I look forward to my next meal with NBC.”
The series is currently owned by Gaumont International Television. Hannibal‘s previous two seasons did not perform too well for the network in its original Friday night time slot.
Hannibal‘s third season is off to a slow start, in both ratings and storytelling. Starting off drastically different from the pervious two, season 3 opted to build up the personal narratives and leave the graphic human sacrifices of the week aside. Season three’s art direction has exceeded all expectations, but the show has found it difficult to keep viewers coming back for second looks.
Based on the interest in the series, it is likely that this is not the last time Hannibal will dine with his audience. Netflix, Amazon Prime, or even another network such as FX, may likely step up to save the series in good time!
Martha De Laurentiis, one of the series’ executive producers, confirms that the show is currently looking for new distribution. She said to Buzzfeed, “NBC has been a wonderful home for three seasons of Hannibal, and we still have 10 mind-blowing episodes taking Hannibal and Will into uncharted terrain. We believe that after they air, audiences’ hunger for the fourth chapter of this saga will be incredible, and are presently exploring other distribution options with our creative team and our partners at Gaumont Television.”
Fuller will wrap up season 3 with NBC before he beings production on his other adaptation project, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods for Starz.
Hannibal season 3, episode 4, “Aperitivo,” airs Thursday, June 25 at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
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