[TV] “Hannibal” Not Airing 4th Episode Due To Boston Bombings, Cultural Climate

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on April 19, 2013 @ 1:31pm
Category: Movies / Videos

You’re going to have to wait a while to see episode 1.04 of NBC’s “Hannibal”, “Coquilles.” Per Variety, the episode – which features “Molly Shannon’s character brainwashing kids, leading them to kill other children” – has been pulled from NBC’s schedule at Fuller’s request.

Fuller explained that he felt the cultural climate in the country just wasn’t right at the time, “I didn’t want to have anyone come to the show and have a negative experience. Whenever you [write] a story and look at the sensational aspects of storytelling, you think, ‘This is interesting metaphorically, and this is interesting as social commentary.’ With this episode, it wasn’t about the graphic imagery or violence. It was the associations that came with the subject matter that I felt would inhibit the enjoyment of the overall episode… It was my own sensitivity.” Another factor here was apparently Sandy Hook’s re-emergence in the news this week (victim’s parents were in the stands at the Boston Marathon and a gun bill inspired by the tragedy was voted down), and it’s important to note that this episode was shot before that tragedy even took place.

Apparently, you’ll still totally be able to follow Episode 5 despite not seeing Episode 4 (it wasn’t sent to critics, but eps 3 and 5 were). Also, NBC and Fuller will help bridge the gap by providing a package of clips from the show online that trace the character aspects of the episode with commentary from Fuller. I imagine we’ll be seeing this one on Blu or DVD (it’s also airing overseas).

“Hannibal” airs at 10/9c on Thursdays. READ MORE