NBC's Hannibal has been canceled

Despite a warm critical reception and rabid fan base, NBC has decided to pull the plug on Hannibal, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The show will end with season three, which is currently airing on the network.

The show — a beautiful, surreal, darkly composed prequel to Silence of the Lambs — is another early end to a series created by Bryan Fuller, whose work includes other cult hits like Pushing Daisies. "Hannibal is finishing his last course at NBC’s table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again," Fuller said in a statement given to the Reporter. "And personally, I look forward to my next meal with NBC."

Hannibal struggled to find a broad audience despite becoming a darling among many reviewers. While the show originally kicked off in the procedural crime drama mode, it's transformed into something much different since. "The first thing I tell any new director is "'You are making a pretentious art film,'" Fuller once told RogerEbert.com. Hannibal's adherents will undoubtedly back up that sentiment as they mourn the show before its finale on September 3rd.

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