One of my all-time favorite shows. It's a miracle NBC allowed Bryan Fuller to really go for the gold with Hannibal, which features HBO level violence (how did they get away with some of this stuff on broadcast?!), a serialized story after most of the first season, intense and intelligent character focus, surreal and psychedelic visuals, and a central character who is not only a brutal psychopath who eats his victims, but is also incredible charming and likable despite it (he's essentially the devil among us, charming us into temptation).

Mads Mikklesen truly knocks it out of the park as Hannibal Lecter, creating a nuanced character and avoiding attempting to emulate Anthony Hopkins' iconic performance. To me, Hopkins' iconic performance in Silence of the Lambs is incredible and very worthy of his oscar win, but his follow-up appearances cranked his level of crazy into sometimes cartoonish levels. Sure, he was still a lot of fun to watch, but he had become a slasher villain. Just my opinion, of course, and I still enjoy those movies. But Mads created a sophisticated beast, one who we all know is a monster but is so damn good at convincing the world around him that he is the ultimate friend and confidante. His incredible charm and his knowing, tiny little smile he makes whenever someone says something to which only he (and the audience) know the truth about is both funny and disturbing. He loves being a snake in the grass, and loves seeing how the world shapes itself as he continually disturbs it. As the show goes on, the devil inside gets plenty of chances to unleash too, and Mads' background as both a dancer and in prior action roles allow him to be absolutely ferocious when he strikes.

And his relationship with Hugh Dancy's Will Graham is an amazing story of friendship and murder. Dancy plays Graham as an emotional disturbed FBI profiler with a monkey paw gift: an incredible depth of empathy and knack for detail that allows him to think exactly like a killer and recreate crime scenes, but at the cost of his mental state. Will is possibly on the spectrum already and is constantly battling his deteriorating sanity, with Hannibal both helping him (as his therapist and friend) and hurting him (as an intelligent psychopath) depending on the situation. Dancy is great, creating will as a both a wounded dog and rabid wolf who must navigate awful circumstances. The journey he goes on through three seasons is very unique, and he and Mads have great chemistry together.

I could go on and on about the rest: the visual style is incredibly unique, the music is surreal and haunting, the supporting cast (including Laurence Fishbourne, Gillian Anderson, Gina Torres, Eddie Izzard, etc.) is great, and despite the series cancellation berfore Fuller's original six-year plan it ends on a satisfying note. It's a relatively quick watch as well, with only the first half of season 3 feeling a little slow thanks to some indulgence in the individual characters and a breathtaking visual and location shift (I loved it, but I know some people felt those episodes are a little slow).

Last words: Can't recommend enough if you like dark stories and humor or are overall fans of the Hannibal Lecter character or series. It's a great remix of Thomas Harris' creation and is only missing the Silence of the Lambs bits (those characters are owned by MGM who wouldn't allow them to be used in the show unfortunately.). Bon Appetit *raises wine glass*