Hannibal spent its first season on NBC mixing murder and psychological profiles to follow a series that is partly a procedural and partly a game of cat and mouse. That quality of the production in the series is particularly high, and we’ve got an exclusive Season 1 Blu-ray bonus clip that will give you an idea of how the crew works to make the series look so seamless.
In the video, executive producer David Slade discusses the fact that the series is invested in using special effects. TV has a notoriously quick turnaround time, so the company works with a company called Rocket Science to work in some awesome visuals in an effective time frame. We get to see the company create fire that bursts from bodies and bullet holes riddling into stomachs. Hannibal has always been a dark and disturbing series, and the bullet holes fit right in.
While Hannibal is mostly set in the present, the series uses lead character Special Agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) to explore dreamscapes and distorted perceptions of reality. Graham’s a gifted criminal profiler with a vivid imagination that helps him to empathize with the minds of various psychopaths. But when Dr. Hannibal Lector (Mads Mikkelsen) enters the scene, Graham may have finally met his match. Slade directed the pilot for the series, and is a good fit for this sort of project, having explored different perceptions of reality in NBC’s short-lived series Awake.
Hannibal has already been renewed for a second season, but that season isn’t expected to hit the network until midseason, which means we may not get the series until next winter or even spring. In the meantime, the first season of the series is a richly layered program filled with mystery and intrigue. It’s the sort of show that feels wholly new and original the first time through, but it’s also a show with great rewatch value, allowing audiences to observe hints and manipulative maneuvers we may have missed the first time around.
Hannibal: Season 1 will hit Blu-ray and DVD on September 24 and will come with a slew of bonus features, including a gag reel, deleted scenes and numerous featurettes that will look at the making of the TV series. You can check out the full list of extras, or pre-order the set over at Amazon.
