European vacation
TV: Mads Mikkelsen and Gillian Anderson take the long and bloody road in Hannibal
Poor Hannibal Lecter needed a travel buddy.
He’s a tough guy to get close to, for obvious reasons. But with Hannibal entering its third season — beginning Thursday, June 4 on NBC and City — the ability to massage and reinvent the tale is what continues to excite executive producer Bryan Fuller.
The first half of the new season really delves into the relationship between Hannibal, played by Mads Mikkelsen, and his own psychiatrist Bedelia Du Maurier, played by Gillian Anderson. They’re on a road trip together!
“There is a genuine connection between Bedelia and Hannibal,” said Fuller, who developed the TV series from the books written by Thomas Harris. “It’s different than the connection between Will ( Hugh Dancy) and Hannibal.
“As Bedelia states at one point, Will’s relationship with Hannibal is a much more passionate one than her relationship with Hannibal. But (Bedelia and Hannibal) have an intimacy that goes beyond the psychiatrist-patient relationship, even though I would say at its core that Bedelia always will be Hannibal’s therapist first.”
Fuller said the plan to explore the Bedelia- Hannibal connection came from a variety of places.
“One-third Thomas Harris, one-third contemporary genuine psychology and one-third our own magic sauce for what we are exploring in this very complicated world of relationships with a serial killer,” Fuller said.
“We had seen Hannibal in the previous adaptation as very much a lone wolf. This was an opportunity to see him with friendships. We’re telling the story of a Hannibal Lecter who actually can care about another human being.
“And even though he’s doing atrocious things to those other human beings, part of him is doing it because he feels it will access a truer, more honest sense of that person’s self in his dastardly deeds.”
Even beyond that, Fuller just loves seeing Mikkelsen and Anderson on screen together.
“Well, really it kind of boils down to the fabulousness of Gillian Anderson and more of her is always a good thing,” Fuller said.
“We had so much fun working together in the first two sea- sons and she’s such an iconic actress and brings such a specific energy to the show. It seems like a really logical next step to flesh out that relationship and get more of the chemistry between Mads Mikkelsen and Gillian Anderson.
“One of the most fun things about this season is the departure from crime-procedural storytelling. This first chapter of season three was really designed to do the show as a pure character-driven story.”
After what occurred in the season-two finale, season three begins with Hannibal sporting a new identity, but servicing the same appetites. He’s on the run in Europe, with Bedelia in tow.
As the season continues, Will, Jack (Laurence Fishburne) and Alana (Caroline Dhavernas) slowly converge on Hannibal again, each with their own motivations to catch him.
Then late in the season, Jack implores Will to help him catch a new threat, a serial killer preying on families, known in the press as the Tooth Fairy, but self- proclaimed as the Great Red Dragon.
The hunt for the Great Red Dragon may f orce Will to turn to an unwelcome source of insight. You probably can guess who that might be.
“The (positive) critical reaction to the show means so much more to me as an artist than big ratings,” Fuller said.
“Yes, big ratings would be amazing. But being understood is an even more amazing thing.
“I think what we can do is just continue talking about the show, talking about its merits and also using season three as a brand new entry point. If you haven’t seen Hannibal in the first two seasons, season three actually is a great way, a great place, to jump in and allow yourself to be swept away.”
Not literally, though. Hannibal has a travel buddy now, but he’s still Hannibal.