The Shocking Episode of Hannibal That Was Banned for Heartbreaking Reasons

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Looking back now, it’s astonishing that a series as extraordinary and graphically violent as Hannibal was broadcast on a primary network like NBC. In today’s era, such a program would likely be a streaming original or a high-end HBO production, but during the 2012-2013 season, when Hannibal premiered, the first major American streaming show (House of Cards) was yet to debut on Netflix in February 2013. This meant that Hannibal aired on NBC in the same season as Chicago Fire, The New Normal, Animal Practice, and the notorious sitcom failure 1600 Penn.

An unanticipated location served as the residence for the series ‘Hannibal’ across three seasons. Throughout this period, Bryan Fuller’s daring concept of Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter continued to captivate audiences with grotesque visuals and narratives steeped in sexual themes, testing the limits of conventional television broadcasting. Regrettably, a single ‘Hannibal’ episode was never aired – not due to conservative NBC censorship but for deeply unfortunate reasons instead.

What Hannibal Episode Never Made It To Air?

In the early stages of the series “Hannibal”, an episode titled “Oeuf” was postponed from its original April 25, 2013 airdate. This episode was penned by Jennifer Schuur and helmed by Peter Medak. The story revolves around one of Will Graham’s (portrayed by Hugh Dancy) initial cases in the show where he aids in locating missing boys who are believed to have slaughtered their own families. However, it is eventually unveiled that this narrative was orchestrated by an unidentified woman (played by Molly Shannon), who abducts the children and coerces them into committing these horrific acts. Throughout the episode, Graham continues to disclose personal details to Hannibal Lecter, making himself increasingly exposed to the cunning psychopath lurking among the ordinary.

NBC planned to broadcast an episode of Hannibal without issue, but its creator, Bryan Fuller, chose not to air it on US television. Fuller stated that the current cultural environment in the U.S. was not suitable for showing this particular episode. He explained that it wasn’t due to graphic content or violence, but rather the connections to the subject matter that he felt would negatively impact viewers’ enjoyment of the overall episode. Additionally, he mentioned his personal sensitivity as a factor. Fuller suggested that recent tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting and Boston Marathon Bombing played significant roles in shaping “the cultural climate.

Originally aired in other countries on television and quickly made available online (including iTunes) after its U.S. debut, “Oeuf” faced some controversy before airing but received praise from critics, further boosting the show’s critical acclaim. It isn’t surprising that creator Bryan Fuller felt uneasy about an episode of Hannibal centered around child endangerment and murders involving children being appropriate for broadcast in April 2013. Given the shocking events happening globally at the time, artists needed to be mindful of the world’s new reality.

Did Hannibal Face Any Other Controversies In Its Original Run?

The first season of Hannibal didn’t conclude only with the episode that Fuller prevented from airing domestically. In late April 2013, shortly after this fourth episode was pulled off U.S. television, an NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah decided to cancel Hannibal due to its graphic nature. This was an unusual decision given that the show had undergone thorough Standards & Practices examinations to ensure it was suitable for broadcast. However, another local TV station soon took up the show, thus making this controversy brief.

For its entire three-season run on NBC, the show Hannibal surprisingly managed to steer clear of the limelight’s hot spots of controversy. This might have been due to the fact that it wasn’t a ratings powerhouse, and thus didn’t draw the attention of those seeking “controversy” for increased exposure. As a favorite among a select group of viewers, Hannibal was simply too small to generate such commotion. Additionally, the character Hannibal Lecter’s widespread popularity in popular culture may have made it less vulnerable to the outrage of parent groups. Given that everyone is familiar with The Silence of the Lambs, it’s not surprising that Hannibal turned out to be a gory NBC production.

The unique, boundary-pushing quality of the series resonated with audiences worldwide and set Hannibal apart from previous adaptations of Thomas Harris’ books, such as films like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Manhunter.” In the early stages of production, however, creator Bryan Fuller was mindful of the fact that significant and heart-wrenching events were unfolding in reality that eclipsed the importance of Hannibal. Consequently, the fourth episode of the show was not broadcast on American TV out of sensitivity towards real-world atrocities that were too horrific to discuss.

Hannibal is now streaming on Prime Video.

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2025-05-24 17:49