Hannibal Lecter the TV Series?

COMMENTARY | One can understand Hollywood’s tendency to use successful TV shows to inspire similar programming. But apparently someone, noting how “Dexter,” a show about an ethical serial killer, has gotten viewers, has hit upon an idea.

Is the world really ready for “Hannibal Lecter – The Series?”

Mind, maybe it would work on pay-per-view cable, where the edgy is common. The idea of the early crimes of Hannibal Lecter and the pursuit of the insane, cannibalistic shrink by FBI agent Will Graham might make some digestible drama. But it would not be a clone of “Dexter” by any means.

What makes “Dexter” work is the character knows very well what his nature is and is actually interested in trying to become more of a human being, i.e. without the compulsion to kill. The fact that Dexter follows the “Code of Harry,” drummed into him by his stepfather so he only kills the truly evil, tends to help garner the character some degree of sympathy. It may be disconcerting at times to cheer for a killer, but by and large the people who come under his knife richly deserve it.

Lecter, while he exhibits a kind of urbane charm, is a different sort of twisted monster. He is somewhat less finicky about whom he kills, usually people he finds rude or irritating rather than felonious. He also cooks them and eats them with the skill of a Food Network chef. That fact in and of itself is enough to induce anorexia, as happened to one of the supporting characters in the Thomas Harris novel “Red Dragon” after consuming a meal prepared by Lecter.

One supposes that a commentary about the coarsening of the culture is appropriate now. A few years ago a character like Dexter would have been unimaginable. But today he seems like an old friend, someone with whom one can have a beer and talk about work. Dexter is no longer edgy enough.

Lecter is quite a different sort of person and, if the series actually goes to air, will be edgy indeed for a while. But after people get used to a serial killer who is actually evil, how far will Hollywood go to get the edginess back? One shudders to think.

Source: Hannibal Lecter TV Series in Development, Coming Soon, Sept, 12, 2011


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