Hannibal Season 3 On Prime

[Phog Allen]

Gents, I am not precisely sure but I think this had been added to Prime only a week or so ago. It may have been longer and I just missed the announcement. I am pretty sure this series has been cancelled and all I can think is that every single time a really well made, superbly cast and acted series comes to the telly, it is bound for early cancellation.

I admit when the series was first announced I was sceptical. I was so mentally locked onto the image of Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter I simply could not get excited about watching it. Then the first season hit Prime and I noticed it was Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role. This piqued my interest. He has to be one of the best actors doing any sort of film or television work anywhere these days. He has such a unique look and demeanor. And his portrayal of Hannibal is, I dare say, above that of Mr. Hopkins.

Now before I get flayed for that comment I will qualify it with a proviso. Mikkelson and the director developed this Hannibal into something completely believable in the context of the series timeline and era. Hopkins' version was a tour de force of the cinema time frame. He owned the character from the first time he appeared in The Silence of the Lambs till he called Clarice and told her was 'having an old friend for supper.' Bone chilling to say the least.

Season 3 is trippy to put it midly. I am about five episodes in and you need to pay attention. Which is not hard given this cast and their efforts. Mikkelson is of course beyond absorbing as Lecter but I am truly impressed with Gillian Anderson as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier. I am fan of Anderson's from way back in the Xfiles days but she has done some other work which is really good. And this role as psychiatrist is superb. She is nothing if not more beautiful than she was as a young lady. I only mention it because in this role it is her sophistication, mixed with her looks, the wardrobe and script that has left an impression. She comes across with something so many actresses lack these days, a confident grace. She reminds me of a 1940s Hollywood star. Graceful, beautiful, totally at ease with herself(in character), and nobody's fool. So many female roles these days seem hellbent on showcasing two kinds of women; the little tough nut loner who can defeat four or five two-hundred pound men with nothing more than a flick of her tiny fists or the single mom with a troubled past who is still just that much more clever than any man in the room. I am nauseated by this role anymore.

I am still not decided about Hugh Dancy as Graham but hey, he is standing in the shadow of the best portrayal of a monster I have ever seen. I was also quite sceptical of Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford. If you have read an of the Harris books you know that his Crawford is certainly not that Crawford. But again, in this somewhat alternate Hannibal timeline it works. And the other supporting cast members do great jobs as well. This is certainly worth a look for anyone who has had their fill of Two Broke Girls or Mike and Molly type ridiculousness. It is intense though and I warn anyone who is a bit put off by such content that there is unflinching dialogue about cannibalism and some other somewhat taboo subjects. It is(was) broadcast so thankfully no F bombs or out and out nudity. This production needs neither anyway. Do check it out and give us your thoughts.

 

[alex2363]

It may come back for a 4th season, but it's still not a sure thing.




Of continuing into a fourth season, Mikkelsen, who played the titular cannibal, said that if the opportunity presented itself the cast and crew are definitely in. He said that creatorBryan Fuller (the unsung hero of television with credits like Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me to his name) had already thrown around a couple ideas for the beginning of a new season. In terms of the format, Mikkelsen would rather see a full season than a wrap-up movie.

 

[Phog Allen]

Thank you Alex. I was unaware of that possibility. I hope it happens.

 

[alex2363]

Thank you Alex. I was unaware of that possibility. I hope it happens.

I saw and liked the show, at times they went over board with the eloquent artistic food preparation sequence, and the csi crime scene mental imaging guessing sequence ,

 

[NinthSphere]

Haven't done a rewatch since season 3 wrapped, but I would be perfectly happy if they left it as is. With the exception of the Molly Shannon ep I wasn't crazy about, I thought it was a beautifully done series, although I'm surprised they got away with making things so graphic without being on cable. I read at one point that when they ran motel angel ep past censors, they were told there was too much butt crack visible. Just needed to fix that. I haven't read any of the books, but I thought casting was excellent as well, all around. The movies were good, but I prefer this series for its more fleshed out world & I could watch Mikkelsen & Dansey & the rest do their thing all day.

They auctioned off the costuming & props a while back. I was horribly disappointed that I didn't have money at the time to throw at one of Hannibal's three piece suits.

 

[Legion]

I really enjoyed that show, but would be OK if they let it go. Too often shows are kept going until they jump the shark. There is nothing wrong with going out strongly.

 

[alex2363]

I'm thinking 2 more seasons may do it for me.....

 

[Phog Allen]

Agree Alex. I am only up to the episode introducing Francis Dolarhyde so I don't know how the season ends. If it wraps up the Dolarhyde saga of Red Dragon which is what the series is based upon, then it would likely leave no hanging plots to worry about. We'll see. Rarely does an intense crime drama have a cast that melds so well as this one. Breaking Bad was, at its heart, the bond between Walter White and Jesse. The other cast was super strong but none of the onscreen personages was so intertwined with Heisenberg as Jesse was.

Mikkelson's Hannibal ABSORBED everyone who came into his hemisphere. It is why I give old Mads boy a lot of credit. He pulled off a coup of some large proportion. Looking at it now I would not hesitate to say another actor could not have pulled it off. In fact, he would have ruined it. This says much about the casting and production team. A Dane portraying a Lithuanian who was originally portrayed by an Oscar winning actor with proper received Engish pronunciation. BTW, I was unsure about his ancestry though I was sure it was Nordic from his voice. Particularly in other features. So I looked it up on the old Wiki and according to their audio pronunciation is pronounced mas migisin. I certainly hope this is not the end of his U.S presence. He is too good.

 

[alex2363]

This is from Mikkelsen



Last year NBC unexpectedly cancelled the show "Hannibal" and fans were upset. Many hoped, including the star of the show Mads Mikkelsen, that the television adaptation of the Thomas Harris’ novels would continue. The actor recently spoke with Express.co.uk about hopes to bring back Hannibal Lecter’s story to the small screen.

"We are all angry. We were p****d. It’s madness," the actor said of the cancellation. "And season four was actually the one we thought we’d definitely get. Seasons two and three were on the verge. We didn’t know whether Hannibal would be renewed. But by the time we got to season four we thought it was a definite. We were very surprised at the decision."
When asked if he hopes to bring the series back to another network, the Danish actor said it was a total possibility, but it’s up to the show’s creator.

"It all depends on Bryan [Fuller]. He is the key, the base, the heart," Mikkelsen said. "We will wait and see what happens next in his career. But we all know that we can easily pick this up in two or three years, there are breaks in the stories. We could pick it up, say, four years later. If Bryan is up for it, we will all go for it.”
Adding, "He loved it. It was his baby. Let’s wait and see.”
READ MORE: How The Surprising Moral Strength Of ‘Hannibal’ Helps To Make It One Of TV’s Best Dramas
There previously had been reports that the production had trouble obtaining the rights to the 1988 book "Silence of the Lambs," and had a difficult time including it in the series. But before the show got the boot, Mikkelsen commented that it was starting to seem like everything was going to work out.

"We were very close to solving the rights issues," the actor explained. "Silence of the Lambs was coming up around the corner, and it’s such a beautiful story with great characters. We were happy to be able to do it for as long as we did. However, we felt there were more stories. We thought we ended the show in a great way, but we had more to tell."
And what exactly were these stories that he hoped he would get to tell in the next season? ”I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you,” Mikkelsen answered.


http://www.indiewire.com/2016/04/mads

 

[NinthSphere]

I'm hoping if they do bring it back, they go Netflix or AP the way several recent series have.

 

[alex2363]

I'm hoping if they do bring it back, they go Netflix or AP the way several recent series have.

2017 seems it may be coming

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/hannibal-season-4-bryan-fuller-2017-1201699020/


The series finale proved a juicy conclusion for the visually arresting series, but Fuller and cast members Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy have always hinted that the story was not finished and expressed interest in returning via Season 4 or some kind of longer feature. Fuller certainly has his hands full right now, but in a new interview with Collider, the creator revealed that he knows exactly when “Hannibal” continuation talks will resume.
“Two years after the last airing of the show, we can investigate our options,” he explained. “August 2017 is when we can actually start talking about it. That’s when we would have to see what the rights are for the character and for the story, and see who’s interested and how we get it done.”
“The cast is game, I’m game,” Fuller continued, “it’s just a matter of finding the right time where everybody’s schedules sync up, but I would love to continue to tell the story with Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen. They’re such a fantastic collaborators, and one of the most satisfying actor-showrunner relationships I’ve ever had in this industry. So I would love to continue this story.”
“Hannibal” fans will no doubt be thrilled with this news. 2017 may be an agonizingly long wait just to find out whether the series will continue, but the fact that Fuller is passionate about the series’ future is a great sign. He hoped the series would continue after NBC cancelled it, and it looks like he’s staying true to his word to all of our delight.

 

[alex2363]

Here is some good insight

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/03/ha...tiis-says-piracy-helped-kill-the-show-259570/


One of the show’s producers, Martha De Laurentiis, has just recently weighed in on the show’s cancellation. She’s penned an op-ed in The Hill, one that more or less blames the untimely end of "Hannibal" on internet piracy. This is troubling, if not exactly surprising. Of course, piracy – aside from being a horrible disservice to the people who actually make the movies and shows we all watch – is a crippling problem in the world of film financing. Empirically, it’s impossible to financially compensate the cast and crew of a large production if the majority of your viewership is watching your show on their laptop. De Laurentiis goes on to drive this point home, stating:
When NBC decided not to renew ‘Hannibal’ for a fourth season—a show on which I served as executive producer—it wasn’t much of a leap to connect its fate with the fact that the show was ranked as the fifth-most illegally downloaded show in 2013. When nearly one-third of the audience is coming from pirated sites—despite the fact that a legitimate download for each episode was available the following day—you don’t have to know calculus to do the math….
….Did pirates kill “Hannibal”? Unfortunately, that is a cliffhanger that might last for a while. With more than 2 million viewers watching our show illegally, it’s hard not to think online pirates were, at the very least, partly responsible for hundreds of crew members losing their jobs and millions of fans — who watched the show legitimately — mourning the loss of a beloved program.
Makes sense, right? While future of "Hannibal" as a cult show has all but been cemented, it’s a shame for many that the unholy alliance of Dr. Lecter and Will Graham has (for now) come to an end. Fuller’s fanbase can rest assured that the showrunner is definitely staying busy: remember, he’s still adapting Neil Gaiman’s novel “American Gods” for the Starz network, and there’s also, of course, his upcoming take on “Star Trek.” Still, De Laurentiis’ words are a sobering reminder that art has a cost, and that it must be upheld and preserved – that it is not just something to consume blindly.

 

[Phog Allen]

Alex, interesting articles and somewhat hopeful in tone.

I disagree with Ms De Laurentiis though. Hannibal was BROADCAST. It was never a pay per view type offering from the get go. Sometimes a show simply does not have the popularity it deserves even though it may be the best production around. I seriously doubt piracy caused the downfall. Lack of ratings did.

 

[alex2363]

Alex, interesting articles and somewhat hopeful in tone.

I disagree with Ms De Laurentiis though. Hannibal was BROADCAST. It was never a pay per view type offering from the get go. Sometimes a show simply does not have the popularity it deserves even though it may be the best production around. I seriously doubt piracy caused the downfall. Lack of ratings did.

I agree, but in retrospect lesser shows become cult classics on lesser rating hungry TV venues...I think that extending it 2 or more seasons on another venue who do that.