Bon appetit! Hannibal is heading to Netflix in June

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

I hope your appetite is ready for a must-have binge. NBC's Hannibal, the critically acclaimed fan-favorite based on the work of author Thomas Harris, is heading to Netflix next month.

Beginning on June 5, you'll get to relive all three seasons of the cult hit which continues to generate conversations about being gone too soon and how it's deserving of some kind of revival on another platform.  The announcement of the series' arrival to Netflix was announced on the See What's Next Twitter page:

Hannibal followed a special FBI consultant named Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who assists in solving grisly murder cases. Soon Graham begins consulting with a respected psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) on a case and the union results in a bond and friendship. What Will doesn't know is that Lecter moonlights as a cannibalistic serial killer. The series also starred Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne, and Gillian Anderson and was specifically based on characters and elements appearing in Thomas Harris' novels "Red Dragon", "Hannibal", & "Hannibal Rising."

The series came from Bryan Fuller, who gave us series such as Heroes, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies & Star Trek: Discovery and the show was widely considered by critics to be one of the most underrated shows of the past decade. Hannibal was never a huge ratings hit but the series following the devoted and very vocal. Mikkelsen's portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was particularly beloved which is quite the feat considering Anthony Hopkins gave us what many believe the definitive portrayal of the character in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

After three seasons, Hannibal was canceled by NBC and almost immediately there were talks of Amazon Prime of Netflix grabbing the show for a renewal. In July of 2015, the contracts for the cast expired and they were all released from the series. Despite this, Mikkelsen and Dancy have both expressed an interest in reprising their respective roles if the series was ever acquired by a streaming service. Making matters difficult was that the show had an exclusive streaming deal with Amazon and discussions with the platform fell apart while any plans of a Netflix revival also came to an end because of its prior deal with Amazon. In the years since the cancellation, talks of a revival emerged again in 2019 when Mikkelsen revealed to "Bloody Disgusting" that he believed Fuller was trying to secure the rights to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS:

"Yeah, I think there's always new hope. I haven't heard anything specific. I know Bryan is still working on some ideas where we can find a new home for this. I also have a strong feeling that everybody who was involved in it would gladly pick up the glove again if that happens. I don't know where they looked. That is above my paycheck, but I know they've been talking to different studios. I know that Fuller was working to get the rights to Silence of the Lambs so he could get in there and use some of those characters for his own universe. I have a hunch that might be where we're going."

The revival talk has perked up again with the recent series order for Clarice at CBS. The series will follow Clarice Starling, a character made famous by Jodie Foster in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, in the time following her interactions with Hannibal Lecter. While the show won't be diving into the cannibalistic serial killer, fans think it can renew interest in the Hannibal series. With the show now going to the streaming in June, who knows what could happen if the Hannibal proves to be a streaming hit for Netflix.

Hannibal is easily one of the best series to come out in the past decade and the fact that the show ended on a bit of an ambiguous note still stings a bit as a fan. I think it's great that the show is coming to streaming but I also hope the interest is high enough to spark conversation about bringing the show back because I believe there is more story to tell.

Will YOU be revisiting Hannibal? The cult-favorite hits Netflix on June 5, 2020.