9: Hannibal by Aaron Sarnecky
Despite not being the dedicated reviewer for Hannibal, I managed to talk a great deal about the show during its final weeks. I don’t want to retread too much, so I will try to put things in a different light.
In its three-season run, NBC’s Hannibal managed to match and surpass the greatness of the best films in the franchise, including The Silence of the Lambs with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. This was possible because the series benefited from executive producer Bryan Fuller’s clear and consistent vision for the character, in contrast to the films, which felt disconnected since none of them shared a director.
Adapting the novels by Thomas Harris must have been a daunting task, and in fact for most of the first two seasons, the show stayed away from the material, outside of subtle nods. However, how Season 2 ended changed the game, allowing Fuller and his fellow writers to explore the source material in new and exciting ways. This led to a third season that felt fresh despite depicting events seen previously in the movies. Sometimes, this meant switching which character did what or what happened when, while other times it meant subverting entire outcomes (but still staying true to the heart of the novels). This somehow worked even when the latter half of Season 3 focused on the Red Dragon, a story that has been adapted into a film twice. I won’t give away what, but if you know the movies or books but haven’t watched the show, you should be in for a treat. Of course, credit must also be given to the fantastic leads, Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, who played Dr. Hannibal Lecter and FBI profiler Will Graham, respectively. And let us not forget Richard Armitage, whose Francis Dollarhyde has convinced me that he’s an actor to watch.
It’s bittersweet that we had to say goodbye to this show after only a few seasons, but it undoubtedly went out on top. And maybe if we’re lucky, Fuller will get to adapt The Silence of the Lambs, the missing element to his masterpiece, as a miniseries in a few years.
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