Hannibal: The Perfect TV Show

I believe some of our stars will always be the same. You entered the foyer of my mind and stumbled down the hall of my beginnings

Hannibal was a tv series that premiered from 2013 to 2015 and it‘s one of the boldest, artistic and unique tv series that aired on network television. Was created by Bryan Fuller and was based on the series of books and starred Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy and Laurence Fishburne and aired on NBC for 3 seasons.

A TV series like Hannibal probably deserved his own path into a streaming platform, but in those years, they weren‘t a hit yet. The series was about a procedural crime drama with Will Graham, who has an extraordinary ability to emphatize with serial killers, but one day, he discovers that he‘s own therapist is in fact a real monster, the famous cannibal.

Why it ended?

A number of factors ocurred by this cancellation and one of the first reasons was the poor rating, even though, they had a huge fanbase, they weren‘t the ones that watched on air, they watched the next day.

Also, another reason, it got too artistic and philosophical for network television. Sometimes, audiences wants a straight to the point story, and this show didn‘t offer any of that. Hannibal was way too perfect for NBC, but hence why, it lasted 3 seasons. The network allowed Fuller to develop an ending, when he find out that probably the series will not come back for a fourth season.

What made this series so special?

• Visuals play a huge part of the story and this show never dissapoints in showing strange imagery
• The performance by Mads Mikkelsen is outstanding
• The relationship between Will and Hannibal is so well crafted and interesting
• The horror lean more into the psychological, rather than offer cheap jump scares
• The series was the first one to break the NBC rule about censorship, this show was full of wild stuff

The show tackled relevant themes about depression, anxiety, loneliness, self reflection and suicide in the most gruesome manner, but beneath all of that, Hannibal had a good run in making the audience feel that Hannibal was some sort of a hero, because you root for him, even though he‘s a villain. Another thing that the episodes offered is the composed cinematography, shots and every frame represents a painting. That‘s not only visual storytelling, it‘s art. The finale of the show reflects how the story could‘ve continued, but ended too soon, implying and setting the things in motion for Silence of the Lambs.

Despite the cancellation, the show had their own fanbase, small, but still dedicated and has been loved by many fans and critics, and it became one of the best television series of all time. A cult classic. And since then, no other show has been the same as they were.

Obviously, you will think that Hannibal isn‘t better than Breaking Bad, but the truth is: It‘s so damn perfect that you can‘t even find a single flaw on the story.

Have you watched it?