Thursday, May 30 - Two weeks after its upfront presentation, NBC has given a 13-episode second season renewal to its critically applauded drama series, Hannibal. The new season will air no earlier than midseason.
The announcement was made by NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke. "We're so proud of Bryan's vision for a show that is richly textured, psychologically complex and very compelling. There are many great stories still to be told."
The series stars Hugh Dancy as expert criminal profiler Will Graham, who has a unique ability to peer into the mind of serial killers; Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lector, a psychiatrist who is helping with the cases but is also a serial killer himself; and Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford, the head of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. Caroline Dhavernas and Hettienne Park also co-star.
Through its eight original telecasts to date, Hannibal is averaging a 2.0 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 4.7 million viewers overall in "most current" results from Nielsen Media Research. Hannibal is the youngest drama on ABC, CBS and NBC, with a median age for its audience of 45.7. It's also an upscale drama, indexing at a 111 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes (with 100 indicating an average concentration of those homes).
Additionally, Hannibal is heavily time-shifted, with its 18-49 rating growing by 75% going from next-day "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus seven day" results.
In addition to Fuller, Martha De Laurentiis, Jesse Alexander, Chris Brancato, Sara Colleton, Katie O'Connell, Elisa Roth, Sidonie Dumas and Christophe Riandee also serve as executive producers.
The series is produced by Gaumont International Television, Dino De Laurentiis Company and Living Dead Guy Productions, and co-commissioned internationally by Sony Pictures Television Networks.
