NBC Still Mulling Over When We'll See Hannibal

The story of a younger Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and his relationship with FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), NBC’s upcoming Hannibal is well into production, but still doesn’t have a debut date set. At the TCA (Television Critics Association) tour today, NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt said that the show could debut by the end of the current TV season in May.

Later, I asked Greenblatt when the show would air if not this season – over the summer or in the fall? Said Greenblatt, “To be determined on the scheduling of it. It could be a summer show, in which case I think you look at all the great cable shows that are on in the summer and I think it could fit really nicely in that world. It’s really well crafted.”

Greenblatt noted that in Hannibal, “There’s a big overriding case for the first season, with a lot of other cases along the way.”

The series comes from Bryan Fuller, known for quirky, witty series like Wonderfalls and Pushing Daises. NBC’s president, Jenifer Salke, described Hannibal as “very unique. And as you say, with Bryan, his imagination and the production value that he’s brought to a procedural show, which obliviously has ongoing serialized aspects… It’s like a procedural you’ve never seen before. There’s a lot of big fans of it, so we haven’t decided what to do with it yet, but we do love it.”

Bon Appetit! Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal.

Another new network TV series, FOX’s The Following, deals with the relationship between a serial killer and an FBI agent. Salke noted they actually were given the pitch on The Following and loved it, but didn’t pursue it because they were already underway on Hannibal.

Asked if the success or failure of The Following, which debuts this month, will have an impact on the scheduling of Hannibal, Salke said, “I don’t think so. Because I will tell you, and having not seen beyond the pilot of The Following, it’s incredibly different. You know Bryan [Fuller], Bryan makes a show feel like none other. It doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen anywhere else. I’ve never seen anything like it. So you’re on the edge of your seat. It’s beautifully directed David Slade, who’s incredible… So no, I don’t think so.”

Asked why these series seem so prevalent right now – A&E also has Bates Motel this spring – Salke replied, “Big breakout characters. Those just happen to be killers. You need somebody who’s going to grab people by the shoulders and force you to watch it, like House. If you don’t come up with some stars that can step into these characters where people go: ‘wait, wait, wait a minute,’ whether they are afraid of it, or intimidated by it, we’re nowhere. We can’t just launch a procedural show with a well-crafted cop story. It’s not going to happen. So we just need to make a little more noise, and I think that FOX and everyone else feels the same way.”

Source : ign[dot]com