Fannibals rejoice!  Creator Bryan Fuller’s twisted, hypnotic drama series Hannibal will return for a third season, TV Line has confirmed.  Though the show has a passionate fanbase and is a critical success, ratings for the horror drama have been incredibly low thanks to NBC burying the series on Friday nights.  That said, it ranks as the youngest 10pm drama on ABC, CBS, or NBC, making its audience an important draw for advertisers. I just hope the network can find a better timeslot home for the show next year, since this whole Friday business makes little sense for this kind of series.

Mads Mikkelsen does excellent work week-to-week as the titular Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and the show stands as the most gorgeously shot (and visually driven) show currently on television.  Hit the jump for more, including Fuller's overall plan for the series.

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Image via NBC

As Fuller recently told us, the series’ literary nature is not for everyone, but he’s truly carved out a unique take on the material that’s unlike anything else on TV right now—especially on network television.  It will always be a niche series, but it can certainly do better ratings-wise than it has been performing on Friday nights.  It’s encouraging to see NBC feeling confident enough to renew it for a third season, and I’m absolutely looking forward to seeing where Fuller takes the show from here.

Fuller has made no secret of the fact that he has the entire series loosely mapped out, and he’s previously confirmed that he intends to tackle the Red Dragon storyline in the fourth season, so here’s hoping the audience improves a tad next year.  For now, though, Fannibals can rest easy knowing that Hugh Dancy’s twitchiness will grace our television screens for another year.