Showrunner Bryan Fuller opened up about his frustrations with Hannibal season 1. Hannibal made its debut on NBC in 2013, where it was met with a warm reception from critics and audiences alike. Though the series wasn't a ratings juggernaut, it managed to survive for three seasons on the network, airing its third and final season in 2015, culminating in a shocking series finale that left fans chomping at the bit for more.
Hannibal, which utilized characters from Thomas Harris' revered novels, centered a young FBI criminal profiler named Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who forms a unique relationship with a highly-respected psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), who secretly moonlights as a cannibalistic serial killer. The series starred Dancy, Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Gillian Anderson, Hettienne Park, and Kacey Rohl. After making its way to Netflix back in June, the series has gained considerable notoriety from audiences, penetrating the zeitgeist far more substantially than it did while it was on the air. Naturally, due to the show's resurgence in popularity, new details about its production have come to light in recent interviews with the series's creative team.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, showrunner Bryan Fuller revealed that his vision for Hannibal was compromised during season 1. When asked to share his overall opinion of Hannibal season 1, Fuller responded by saying,
"Absolutely, it’s compromised. When we were dealing with the Abigail story and focusing on the soap-opera elements of those families, and the relationship between Will, Hannibal and Abigail, that was when it was the most successful in my mind. Some of the murders of the week were more procedural than I was comfortable with. And then in Season Two, we did a little bit less of that. And in Season Three, we did hardly any of it. So, for me, Season Three is the purest expression of what I wanted for the series."
While fans are secretly hoping that Netflix produces a Hannibal season 4, that certainly won't come to fruition any time soon due to rights issues. However, since the drama dropped on Netflix, other fascinating behind-the-scenes information has come to light. In addition to Fuller's frustrations during season 1, the network apparently wanted John Cusack or Hugh Grant for Hannibal Lecter instead of Mikkelsen. Fuller even opened up about an episode he refused to air during Hannibal season 1 due to the episode's problematic content.
Hannibal was and remains one of the best television shows ever produced. Not only did it expand and enrich Harris' characters, but it forged its own unique identity while paying homage to the iterations of his work that came before. While season 1 of the series remains highly alluring and entertaining, its procedural elements often took away from the show's far more intriguing overarching story involving Will and Hannibal.
As the series slowly shed itself of those case of the week type episodes, it became a far more robust and confident series as a result. Hearing Fuller's complaints aren't surprising, but it's comforting to hear his vision was able to be fully realized as the series evolved with each subsequent season. Hopefully, if the series' rights issues are sorted out, and the appetite for more is palpable, Fuller can continue his vision for the series in a possible Hannibal season 4.
Source: Rolling Stone
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