Unleash the gags about last suppers - NBC has cancelled Hannibal. (Although how anybody can joke at a time like this is more upsetting than the series’ most graphic scenes.)
With the final episode scheduled to air on 3 September, the Bryan Fuller-directed series about the exploits of the cannibal psychiatrist invented by Thomas Harris will end its three-season run and break the hearts of fannibals everywhere.
“We have been tremendously proud of Hannibal over its three seasons,” the network said in a statement. “Bryan and his team of writers and producers, as well as our incredible actors, have brought a visual palette of storytelling that has been second to none in all of television – broadcast or cable.”
Well, anybody who watches Hannibal knows the cancellation isn’t the result of a decline in quality, especially with the addition of (queen) Gillian Anderson this season. However, the Hollywood Reporter claims the show may have come up against a rights issue (in that Fuller and friends don’t have rights to the character of Clarice Starling, who they were reportedly hoping to introduce next season), on top of the series’s slipping ratings. Heartbreakingly, Hannibal hit a low of 1.66 million viewers the week of 11 June when it went up against the NBA finals, and its fate on cable was effectively sealed.
However, there’s still hope.
“NBC has allowed us to craft a television series that no other broadcast network would have dared, and kept us on air for three seasons despite Cancellation Bear Chow ratings and images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser standards-and-practices enforcers,” Fuller said in a statement. “Hannibal is finishing its last course at NBC’s table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again.”
Which makes NBC’s decision seem less final. Considering Hannibal was a groundbreaking (and controversial and downright surprising) choice for traditional cable thanks to its graphic imagery, it’s arguably the perfect series for cable or streaming services like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. (Lest we forget, Hulu picked up The Mindy Project after it was cancelled a month back.) Those networks would also probably award Fuller a little more creative freedom than he was allowed on a traditional cable channel like NBC.
Hannibal’s artful approach to murder, crime, and cannibalism is what makes the show so interesting. Considering the TV landscape is full of shoot-’em-up cop shows or series about female victims at the hands of tired, unoriginal antagonists (we’re looking at you, Criminal Minds), Hannibal depicted murder as secondary to the series’ focus on character and their relationships. It kept the spirit of The Silence of the Lambs alive by presenting Hannibal (played by Mads Mikkelsen) as brilliant and even likeable, which confused us all and gave us an insight into the mind of damaged, compelling people, especially thanks to the dynamic between Mikkelsen and his nemesis Will Graham, played by Hugh Dancy. Also, Gillian Anderson is currently playing Hannibal’s “wife”, Bedelia Du Maurier in imperious style – a genius casting decision.
So unless another network picks up Hannibal, we’ve just lost one of the first original crime series in years – which is even more depressing when you think that CSI: Cyber recently made its TV debut. (Great cast, but come on.) Hannibal may be difficult to watch, it may be disturbing and upsetting, but that’s also the reason it’s so good. As viewers, we’re desensitised to crime series and murder plots, and Hannibal reminds us that violent death should make us uncomfortable. We should feel sick after seeing graphic crime scenes. We should end every episode confused about our feelings for complicated and familiar antagonists.
So here’s hoping a network somewhere won’t make the lambs stop screaming just yet.
