Next week on Thursday night will be the premiere of NBC's new show Hannibal.
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This was completely off my radar, as it seems like there are several serial-killer themed shows coming out and I didn't really see the need for a Hannibal tv show to exist (especially on broadcast television) so I had basically ignored everything about it beyond it's existence.
However, today something caught my interest. Not unlike a shark catching a goose.
Hannibal is a Bryan Fuller show. He's best known for creating a variety of quirky shows that promptly get cancelled so hard that pre-Avengers Joss Whedon feels bad for him (the most recent show having been cancelled before it even aired, though we did eventually get to see the pilot).
This time they've at least already guaranteed him a full first season of 13 episodes. Apparently he plans to have each season (assuming he is actually allowed more than 1-2 this time) as a 13-episode story arc with little-to-no fluff, and has already planned out at least the first two seasons.
Also, it takes place in the same universe as all those other shows he created. Not kidding. The actress that portrayed Gretchen Speck in Wonderfalls will be reprising her role in an early episode of Hannibal (and if I had to guess, I'd say she's probably going to die). My wife and I recently finished her first viewing of Lost, so we had moved on to Wonderfalls (having already watched the other Fuller shows), and just watched Gretchen Speck's episodes this past weekend.
Despite my initial reservations about the Hannibal show existing, Bryan Fuller has earned enough good will for me to give it a shot. Besides, it's bound to be better than the likes of Dexter Season 6, and I'm still watching Dexter.
So who's our cast?
Hugh Dancy will be playing Agent Will Graham (a character who was recently portrayed by Edward Norton in Red Dragon).
Mads Mikkelsen (main bad guy from Casino Royale) is playing Hannibal (a character best known for Anthony Hopkin's portrayal of him).
Caroline Dhavernas (main character from Wonderfalls) is playing Dr. Alana Bloom, a psychology professor who consults for the FBI.
Lara Jean Chorostecki plays Fredricka Lounds, a tabloid blogger.
The supporting cast includes Laurence Fishburne as Graham's Boss at the FBI, with his wife being portrayed by his real-life wife Gina Torres, as well as
DANA SCULLY Gillian Anderson as Hannibal's psychotherapist. Plus a few actors from previous Fuller shows.
Guest stars are also rumored to include Ellen Muth (who portrayed the main character in Dead Like Me), Molly Shannon (who appeared in Pushing Daisies), and Eddie Izzard (who portrayed Grandpa in Mockingbird Lane). They are presumably playing new characters, but since this is the same universe as the rest of the Fuller series, I'm fully behind the idea of introducing Grim Reapers and Vampires to the world of Hannibal.
Early buzz (or rather, what I found with a few minutes of googling) seems to be very positive, though one reviewer notes that it was apparently more violent than they were expecting for broadcast television. Apparently the show also has a "cannibal consultant" who advises them on the proper procedure for preparing human flesh for consumption.
The first episode is set to air next week on April 4th at 10pm on NBC. It is supposed to run without interruption until it's finale on June 27th. Presumably notice of it's cancellation will follow (especially since the director of the premiere is the same guy who directed the premiere of Awake, so this show is like double-cursed or something).
Also, all the episode titles are French words for food-related things, with the finale being "Savoureux" (or "Delicious").
