“He catches insane men because he can think like them,” says journalist Freddie Lounds (Lara Jean Chorostecki) about a man named Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) in the series Hannibal. Maybe not what you want in a reference letter sent to a potential new employer, but it’s what makes Will so invaluable to the FBI: He’s a special investigator with an innate ability to understand how killers work. So when a big case keeps getting bigger, he’s immediately put on the job. Because of the mental toll this all takes on Will, he’s assigned a psychiatrist: Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). Unbeknownst to Will, Hannibal might just understand killers even more than him.

Created by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, American Gods), Hannibal ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2015. The psychological crime thriller is based in part on Thomas Harris’s novels, including The Silence of the Lambs. All three seasons are streaming on Netflix now. 

When can I watch Hannibal?

Stream Seasons 1–3 now.

Who’s in the cast of Hannibal?

• Hugh Dancy (The Path) as Will Graham, a criminal profiler
• Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist
• Caroline Dhavernas (Mary Kills People) as Dr. Alana Bloom, a psychology professor
• Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) as Jack Crawford, head of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit
• Hettienne Park (The Beast in Me) as Beverly Katz, a crime scene investigator
• Lara Jean Chorostecki (Chucky) as Freddie Lounds, a journalist
• Aaron Abrams (Blindspot) as Brian Zeller, who works for Jack
• Scott Thompson (The Kids in the Hall) as Jimmy Price, a forensic expert
• Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal’s psychiatrist 

What happens in Hannibal?

Special investigator Will Graham (Dancy) has an uncanny ability to think like a killer. When he enters a crime scene, he’s able to see it exactly as the person who committed it did. It’s a rare gift that makes him crucial to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, and it comes with a heavy psychological burden — that’s why, these days, he’s mostly traded fieldwork for teaching at the FBI Academy.

But there’s a serial killer murdering young women in Minnesota, and the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, Jack Crawford (Fishburne), needs his best profiler on the case. To protect Will’s well-being, Jack suggests the special investigator meet with psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen). As they get to know one another — and Will’s investment in the case grows deeper — the two develop an unlikely rapport. But the charming, sophisticated Dr. Lecter is even more peculiar than Will realizes: His new confidante has an insatiable taste for human flesh.

Is Hannibal based on a book?

Yes. Hannibal is inspired by the characters in Thomas Harris’s novel, Red Dragon. Harris also authored The Silence of the Lambs. 

Where does Hannibal take place?

The show is set primarily in and around Baltimore, Maryland, with the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia.

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