Hannibal Season 4 Is Not Returning This Year [2023 Updates]

 

Hannibal is one of the best horror-thriller series. It also touches and brings in psychology through the series. Will Graham is a person who works for an FBI Agency as a criminal profilist.

 

He has a special ability, when he goes to a crime scene he can easily visualize what could have possibly happened.

 

But things cannot be that easy right? He’s a person who is mentally not okay. He has social anxiety and other psychological problems which prohibits him from working in the field.

 

But soon he got a chance to prove his worth. Girls are going missing in the city and the agency chooses Will Graham to investigate.

 

They reveal very soon that the crime is done by Hannibal. So, we have the killer on one side and a potential killer on the other side.

 

Who wins the game is the ultimate question. This series goes on tiptoe for three seasons, will there be a Hannibal season 4?

 

 

Everything We Know So Far About Hannibal

 

Hannibal is developed from the books Red Dragon (1981), Hannibal (1999), and Hannibal Rising (2006) which were originally written by Thomas Harris.

 

It was developed by Bryan Fuller for NBC. Hannibal comes under four major genres namely, psychological horror, psychological thriller, crime drama, and crime thriller.

 

The first season premiered on April 04, 2013, on NBC. This series has 3 seasons and every season has thirteen episodes with a runtime of about 43 minutes.

 

This series is produced by Carol Dunn Trussell, Michael Wray, and Don Mancini, through the production companies, Dino de Laurentiis, Living Dead Guy Productions, AXN Original Productions, and Gaumont International Television.

 

This series was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Also, some scenes were shot in Florence, Italy, and Palermo.

 

The finale of the third season aired on August 27, 2015. Two days later it was aired on NBC.

 

This show was praised totally for the acting by the lead performers Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen.

 

The first two seasons of this series were a massive hit and they bagged a lot of awards including the Best Network Television Series.

 

It was also nominated for several awards right after the series was released.

 

 

 

Official Announcement And Release Date Of Hannibal Season 4

 

Hannibal is a great series and we all know that. The first season was released in the year 2013.

 

Without giving much of a gap, the second season was aired in the year 2014, and again not wanting to make the audience wait, the productions team released the third season of this series in the year 2015.

 

Now, it is time for the fourth season. Unfortunately, there are not many signs for the fourth one from the NBC site.

 

They decided on canceling the series on June 22, 2015, and made an official announcement about the same.

 

When demanded a reason to cancel this awesome series, NBC said that there was not much viewership for this series.

 

Also, looks like the viewership has gone down in number when compared to the first season.

 

Fuller couldn’t agree to that and he went in for a talk with Prime Video and Netflix for a possible comeback.

 

Also, the cast is ready to sign another contract and is up for a reprisal.

 

But all ends were dead ends. The team never stopped, they are somehow trying to bring back this series and everybody else is ready to contribute.

 

Some fans, however, are unable to concur with this justification. They are looking forward to the upcoming season and waiting to see what will happen next.

 

Even if it will be a lengthy process, let's hope the team is making progress.

 

After all, we always have a choice.

 

 

 

Popularity Details Of Hannibal Season 4

 

As said before, there are always people talking about the series and fans who are waiting for the new season.

 

From the cast and crew side, they are always updating on how they are trying to bring this series back and I think that is more than enough to keep people fed with the required information.

 

Let’s have a look at where we are on trends and searches.

 

Google Trends

 

The talk about the series has been at its peak three times: once when it was released in 2013, again during the series finale in August 2015, and most recently in June 2020.

 

There are no deadlines so far, the series has been under search even during the last lockdown.

 

The average percentage related to the searches is at least twenty or above that.

 

As for season 4, it peaked in 2020 and after that, it is continuously falling. Presently estimates from google trends tell organic queries are below 10% of the peak value.

 

Google Searches Across Globe

On Google, very few people seem to be enthusiastic as overall searches remain close to 12K. We all know that Hannibal is quite popular and for a series like this, it needs to have more searches.

 

Some of the popular searches on Google include Hannibal season 4 release date, Hannibal season 4 Netflix, why Hannibal was canceled, the trailer of season 4, etc. which shows people's interest and curiosity.

 

So, people have mixed reactions regarding season 4 since the number of searches is not quite high still a variety of queries on Google are being asked.

 

Twitter

 

Across Twitter, people are tweeting that they need a Hannibal Season 4.

 

There are tweets with Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen’s best scene screenshots with captions “There’s no Hannibal season 4 yet, why?” and “If you want Hannibal Season 4, clap your hands” Fans, through Twitter, are showing so much support for another season of Hannibal.

 

 

 

Expected Plot Of Hannibal Season 4

 

In the third season's final episode, Will is attacked by Dolarhyde before he could even think.

 

Then Will pulls Lecter and Dolarhyde off the cliff. After which the post-credits, again there is a lavish table with “three” chairs on it.

 

It might be a hint that the three of them will be back. Expecting the fourth season to start where the third season ended, we might again witness the beautiful love-hate relationship between Graham and Lecter and that’s a sure thing.

 

Another piece of news is that Fuller is trying to get the rights to “The Silence of the Lambs” if he can get that, then the next season might also include anything from that.

 

Also, Fuller has revealed that he has to explore more of the third book to find a great plot that would suit the next season.

 

But, there are certain expectations. Alana Bloom has escaped at the end of season three, what happens to her will be one of the plot ideas.

 

Moreover, Frederick Chilton might meet a grisly fate, which almost happens to every character in this series.

 

Will he survive or not is the question there. There is one thing that can be promised, in the new season, there will be more blood, thrill and psychic drama, be ready with all your heart to watch the next season.

 

 

 

Online Reactions For Hannibal Season 4

 

Reacting to anything is becoming a trend now. At the same time, certain reactions have put things into a trend.

 

Let’s see what people have to say and know if they want a new season.

 

Reddit

 

Throughout Reddit, there are people signing petitions for Hannibal season 4 and mentioning more links that have other petitions for the same.

 

On the other side, fans are discussing the possible story outlines for the next season, those posts contain spoilers if you’re looking for them and haven’t watched the series yet.

 

The most recent posts are from two months ago.

 

Quora

If you are wondering what would probably be the question on Hannibal Season 4, then here it is.

 

People are mostly wondering if there would be a Season 4. A person has raised the question that what should people do to get a season 4 and what is the probability.

 

There’s another curious fan who has asked if Mads Mikkelsen will be a part of Hannibal Season 4.

 

There’s also another person who has asked “Why there’s less viewership when there are good ratings and good performances?”

 

Instagram

Across Instagram, fans are sharing memes and commenting on them. Also, looks like Lecter earns more fans than Will Graham.

 

There are over twelve thousand posts that have #hannibalseason4 hashtags. This proves that the fans are desperate and want to have another season of this series.

 

This series falls under the best horror and best thriller series list, other than psychology.

 

 

 

Why There Should Be A Hannibal Season 4?

 

In my opinion, the first reason why is that it is one of the best adaptations ever.

 

There are adaptations of books into series like Game of Thrones but I would say this series has topped the racks.

 

So, the previous three seasons have been more than perfect, be it acting or soundtrack or post-production or anything, this series has turned out to be great, and so would be the next season.

 

Throughout the three seasons, there was never a slowdown. This show has been very much gripping putting everybody in their seats with its consistent brilliance.

 

Moreover, we NEED to know what happens to Will and Hannibal. Don’t we? The third season has ended with an open ending showing the three chairs.

 

What is going to happen next is the question that is probably running through everybody’s mind.

 

For an answer, we need another season. Most importantly, the cast and crew members are more than ready to work on another season of this series.

 

They are just waiting for an official confirmation. For that reunion and for us to witness it, Hannibal season 4 has to happen.

 

Last but not least, we all know how hard Bryan Fuller is working on the next season.

 

At least for him and his passion for the next season to happen, next season should happen.

 

 

Reviews And Rating For Hannibal

 

People wondering why the series is canceled even though it has good ratings. Not just people, I have the same doubt too.

 

IMDb

 

More than 200K people have rated Hannibal on IMDb and the average rating of the show is 8.5.

 

People loved this series and feel that the actors played their part well.

 

They have mentioned two worders like “Aesthetically Pleasing”, “Daring Visuals”, “Absolutely Phenomenal” and more. They feel that the series is very much gripping and terrifying.

 

Rotten Tomatoes

The average Tomatometer shows 92% whereas the average audience score is given a 94%.

 

It is good because the scores are good. Critics say that the dialogs are super sharp and also, and that is the power of the series.

 

Also, most of them feel that this series is much exceptional and beautiful.

 

 

Top 5 Best-Rated Episodes 

 

Episodes Name and Number	Ratings (IMDb)
Mizumono (Episode 13, Season 2)	9.8/10
The Wrath of the Lamb (Episode 13, Season 3)	9.7/10
Digestivo (Episode 7, Season 3)	9.3/10
Takiawase (Episode 4, Season 2)	9.2/10
Mukozuke (Episode 5, Season 2)	9.2/10

 

 

Awards & Recognition

 

Hannibal has been nominated for almost 16 awards in at least three categories each. Here are some that are worth mentioning.

 

It was nominated for the IGN Awards (2014) in five categories including best actor, best villain, best new television series, and more.

 

It won the award for The Best Television Horror series. Mad Mikkelsen bagged the Saturn Award for Best Actor in Television.

 

From Ewwy Awards, we have won the Best Drama Series. Also, again, we won IGN Awards for Best Villain, Best TV Series, and Best TV Horror Series awards in the year 2015.

 

Gillian Anderson won the Best Supporting Actress Award at Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2015. Again she won the same award in the same category as Richard Armitage in the year 2016.

 

The latest was from Saturn Awards in the year 2017 for Best Television DVD Release. This series was always topping the list of ten in the magazines Vulture, Slant, Filmmaker Magazine, Houston Chronicle, IndieWire, Vox, Digital Spy, HitFix, TV Guide, TV.com, Pop Matters, and more.

 

SPOILER ALERT!! There’s one big spoiler that would like to mention. That is all about the climax of the third season.

 

The three of them, Will, Lecter and Francis are fully drenched in blood after a slo-mo fight.

 

This fight is not like any other fight they’ve been in. It was brutal and cold-blooded that either of them cannot walk away just like that after the fight.

 

They cannot even get up. I would not consider that as an ending, but I would surely take it as a projection of how bound the two of them are.

 

Thus, for a continuation, there are these characters that are still shown in “The Silence of the Lambs”, and Fuller is waiting for the rights so that he can elaborate on the next season with a touch on that story.

 

 

Production And Development Of The Show

 

Hannibal was started to develop by NBC in the year 2011. Bryan Fuller was introduced and he was asked to write for the series.

 

Being passionate from the beginning, Bryan started to write and he was given a financial commitment from the production team before he could finish writing the episodes.

 

That gave him more motivation to develop the characters, Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and the relationship between them which Bryan calls “a real love story”.

 

There’s another fun fact, Fuller planned for a seven-season series, and then at the end of the second season, he made it six.

 

It was Hugh Dancy who was first selected for the role of Will Graham. One led to another and by 2012, the whole cast was decided and the shoot started.

 

Some of the actors have already worked with Fuller in their previous projects. The cast was so perfect and worked well together that Fuller couldn’t agree to change the cast for the next season where NBC suggested that they could, to attract the audience.

 

The whole filming of the series happened in Ontario, Canada. Both, the first and second season shoot began in August month of 2012 and 2013.

 

The latest Updates would be that Fuller is trying his best, pitching his story about season 4 to Netflix and other OTTs.

 

Also, he’s looking for the rights of “The Silence of the Lambs” to include in the next season.

 

 

Why Watch Hannibal Season 4?

 

To be very honest, we should watch the next season only for Bryan Fuller. Because there is something extraordinary about the next season that makes Fuller try so hard to show it to the audience.

 

The amount of effort he takes to produce the next season is huge. We need to respect it and appreciate it.

 

We are hearing from the team that somewhere the silence of the lambs is going to be involved in the next season.

 

So if you are wondering what would be new about it, then you have a reason to watch Hannibal season 4.

 

You might have seen a lot of horrors and thrillers, if you have, you would probably know that there is no other television show like it.

 

To mention again, everything is just fine and perfect about the series in the past three seasons.

 

When the crew reunites for the next season, I don’t think it will be anything less.

 

To have a mind-blown experience, I suggest you watch the next season and you would not be disappointed.

 

 

Popular Hannibal Characters

 

The cast of this series is the biggest strength we are talking about. Big roles or smaller ones, even the one that is out of focus have played their part perfectly.

 

Let’s look into the main characters that are worth knowing.

 

Hugh Dancy as Will Graham

 

Hugh Dancy plays the character of Will Graham. He is an FBI agent with special abilities that help him sense the crime scenes.

 

Also, he has an emotional relationship with the villain of the series, Hannibal Lecter. And this relationship is the base of the whole series.

 

He has played his part perfectly throughout the series. Hugh is a gifted English actor who has it all for acting.

 

He started his career as an actor in the year 2000. Since then, he has acted in more than twenty movies and has appeared in almost seventeen television series including The Path and Homeland which were the recent ones.

 

Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter

 

Mads Mikkelsen has played the role of Hannibal Lecter, one of the leads in this series.

 

He’s the villain of this series. His character is a forensic psychiatrist. Guess what, he’s also a secret cannibal in this series.

 

Lecter and Graham are in a relationship that is more than friendship, in this series.

 

Even though Hannibal is a negative character in the series, I think his acting has fetched him more fan base.

 

Starting his career in the year 1996, Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen appeared in more than forty movies and four television shows.

 

Besides being an actor, he’s also a gymnast. Throughout his career, he has won many awards including Zulu Award for Best Actor and Saturn Award for Best Actor on TV.

 

Caroline Dhavernas as Alana Bloom

 

Caroline is also one of the main characters in the Hannibal series, playing the role of Alana Bloom, a psychology professor.

 

She’s also a consultant in the agency. And she is on professional terms with Graham and Lecter.

 

Caroline has a very good expression of emotions throughout the series. She’s expected to be there in the next season too.

 

Caroline is a Canadian actress and she has worked with Bryan Fuller for a long time.

 

Her first debut was in 1993 in Cap Tourmente. She has acted in more than thirty movies and nearly seventeen TV series, having both main roles and small roles.

 

She is a great actress who is looking forward to making great achievements.

 

Hettienne Park as Beverly Katz

 

Beverly is a brave character. She specializes in fiber analysis and she appears in the first two seasons only.

 

She is also a crime scene investigator. She is one of the best female leads in this series and has played a great role perfectly.

 

Hettienne Park is an actress and singer from America. Beverly Katz in Hannibal is one of her signature roles in her acting career.

 

She has done five films that including Never Forever, Year of the Fish, Bride Wars, Young Adult, and Private Life.

 

Also, she has appeared in more than ten television series.

 

Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford

Jack Crawford is the head of Behavioral Sciences at the FBI. Also, he’s Will Graham’s boss in this series.

 

He’s also one of the main characters, he appears for almost thirty-six episodes in this series.

 

As usual, there’s not a thing that could be a defect in his actions throughout this series.

 

Laurence Fishburne is an American writer, producer, director, and actor. He is well known as Morpheus from The Matrix Trilogy.

 

He has great experience in the film industry, he has been on more than fifteen stage shows, has acted in more than forty movies, and also has appeared in nearly thirty-five television series.

 

Scott Thompson as Jimmy Price

This super energetic actor plays the part of Jimmy Price, a crime scene investigator who’s also studying fingerprints.

 

He has a recurring role in season 1 and he also starred in the next two seasons.

 

Scott Thompson is a Canadian Actor and Comedian. He is a part of the comedy troupe, The Kids in the Hall.

 

He has faced difficulties in his personal life and health but he has managed to do significant work in the film industry.

 

He has appeared in more than fifty movies and television shows.

 

Aaron Abrams as Brian Zeller

Aaron Abrams plays the role of a crime scene investigator who also appears in all three seasons of the Hannibal series.

 

He’s a Canadian actor and writer. He entered the film industry in 2003. Since then, he has acted in 25-plus movies and television series.

 

He’s looking forward to contributing more to the industry.

 

Gillian Anderson as Bedelia Du Maurier

Having bagged awards for the best supporting actor, Gillian Anderson plays the role of Bedelia, Lecter’s psychotherapist.

 

She recurs in season 1 and season 2 whereas she plays a regular role in season 3.

 

She is a great actress with good energy and patience. Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.

 

She has been a part of movies, television series, stage shows, radio, and even video games.

 

She was also on the recent Netflix series, Sex Education. She has played a therapist role in it.

 

Along with other recognitions, she has also won two Primetime Emmy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.

 

 

Facts about Hannibal Series

 

• During the shoot of King Arthur, Hugh Dancy, and Mads Mikkelsen became friends and that made Hugh suggest Mads for the role of Hannibal Lecter. 
• David Tennant who had a very small part auditioned for a lead role. Fuller couldn’t resist his acting that he wanted him to at least give a guest appearance even though he didn’t get the part.
• Bryan Fuller agreed that the relationship between Hannibal and Will was not just friendship but it could be more than that. He had ideas about joining both the names and making it Hannigram. 
• For Will Graham’s role, Bryan thought if Lee Pace from his other movie, Pushing daisies, would be a proper fit, before considering Hugh Dancy. 
• If you have noticed, the season 2 episodes are named after appetizers from Japan. 

 

 

Hannibal Ending Explained

 

The Finale of Season 3 probably made fans open their mouth and not be able to shut them.

 

Because it was one of the greatest season finales people ever witnessed. At the end of Hannibal season 3, there was a fear that how much was going to be left unanswered and how curious are we going to become until the next season.

 

It felt like the end of the whole story and the culmination of this journey.

 

But right when you felt it, some scenes show you were not right.

 

The relationship between Will and Hannibal is so beautiful and unpredictable. That too, in the end, I think no other series could have this kind of an ending.

 

You have every emotion changing from second to second during the end of season 3 and you would not be able to be stable with one emotion.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Having all that said, I have one more thing to say. Please do watch the show and thank me later because you will surely fall for the characters Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter and their relationship.

 

Please keep your hope alive, fans who are eagerly anticipating the upcoming season. Fuller is trying, and the cast & crew are more than ready to work on another season.

 

We will have another season and witness Hannibal and Will again. Also, we will be fascinated again.