Will the Corpse of 'Hannibal' Come Back to Life Online?

Hannibal, a not particularly popular show ostensibly about murder and actually about still life photography, has been predictably and perhaps belatedly murdered by the NBC brass. The series, which survived three seasons longer than anyone expected, will end its three-season run this summer with, one imagines, a series of alienating beautiful disembowelments that will please its small but devoted audience. After that, it’s unclear where Dr. Lecter will go, but the serial killer genius portrayed by Danish demigod Mads Mikkelsen won’t go peacefully.

Showrunner Bryan Fuller, who has a delightful tendency to let Italian kooks direct episodes, has already taken to Twitter to express his determination to keep the show alive, tweeting a #SaveHannibal petition at Netflix and generally writing in ALL CAPS to thank the #fannibals coming out to support the show.

And boy did the #fannibals come out:

If Fuller seems almost rebellious in the face of cancellation, it’s likely because he know the value of a small devoted audience. Hannibal can pitch itself to Netflix, sure, but also Yahoo and Hulu and Amazon and Crackle and Vimeo and whatever else is coming down the pike. The show’s bloodthirsty audience will come find it — and presumably revel in its post-network television insanity.

That’s the flip side of the cancellation. Away from the censors, this Red Dragon is going to have the opportunity to spread its wings. Want a sense of how insane Mad Mikkelsen is willing to go, watch Valhalla Rising. The viking drama make the cannibalism scenes from the show look like Sunny With a Chance of Meatballs. And don’t think the other people behind the show, including Martha De Laurentiis, Thomas Harris, and Vincenzo Natali, are going to be holding anything back. These people have IMDB pages steeped in blood. They live to make viewers flinch.

Hannibal may be dead, but if Fuller knows anything it’s the entertainment value of a well-displayed corpse.