Every Season Of Hannibal, Ranked

While there have certainly been some interesting contenders, there has just never been a TV show quite like NBC's "Hannibal." The series began as something of a procedural, following a special FBI team working with criminal profiling instructor Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), whose empathy allows him to truly get into the minds of the killers he hunts. When he teams up with the talented psychologist Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), however, things get really interesting. Over its three seasons, the show transforms from a procedural with a "murder of the week" format to something much more unconventional. Showrunner Bryan Fuller helped shape the series into a sumptuous, indulgent creation that followed a tragic romance between its two leads, spawning entire bookshelves' worth of fanfiction. It's a brilliant adaptation of author Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter novels, giving Lecter new depth and a surprising sensuality that was missing from other iterations.

Trying to rank the three seasons is like trying to choose between my (imaginary) children, but there are elements of each season that make them stand above or below the others. "Hannibal" seasons are like pizza: even if it's not perfect, it's still amazing. And though Hannibal himself might disagree, taste is subjective and the things that make one season better to me might make them worse to someone else. With all of that in mind, here is my ranking of the "Hannibal" seasons from worst to best. Bon appétit!

There are some truly great episodes in season 2, which sees Will imprisoned for the assumed murder of Abigail Hobbs (Kacey Rohls), whose ear was found in his sink. Whether or not Will actually killed her is initially sort of up in the air because he was suffering from encephalitis and his brain was essentially shutting down, making him an unreliable narrator at best. Will is eventually cleared when he proves that Hannibal knew about his encephalitis and used it to cover up his own crimes, but he unfortunately spends the majority of season 2 behind bars. Since the best element of the series is the shifting psychosexual dynamic between Will and Hannibal, it really suffers when Will is caged. (Hannibal ends up caged himself in season 3, but his imprisonment has always been a big part of Harris' work and doesn't stop his ability to be a total menace.) There are moments where that dynamic gets to shine, like the duo's disturbing dinner date in "Kō No Mono" and getting to work together on a case in "Su-zakana," but carrying on their deadly dance at a distance because Will is locked up isn't nearly as fun.

The season also introduces us to the complicated Verger family. While Katharine Isabelle is incredible as sister Margot, Michael Pitt is a bit too arch as brother Mason. The character is pretty ridiculous as written, drinking children's tears out of a martini glass, but Pitt takes it to a cartoonish level. He was recast for season 3, replaced by Joe Anderson, who feels a little more tonally on-point.

As messy as season 2 is, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the season finale, "Mizumono," is easily among the best in the series. 

Season 1 of "Hannibal" is pretty impressive. It not only introduces the complicated characters and weird, violent world of the series brilliantly, but it also serves as a pretty perfect procedural. Almost all of season 1 follows the "murder of the week" format, complete with disgusting new corpse tableaus each episode and murderous mysteries to solve. The series' campier side also works great as comic relief, making each episode a lot of wicked fun. As the season progresses and the FBI tries to catch the Chesapeake Ripper and his copycat killer (both are actually Hannibal) things get more complicated and the procedural element loses focus, but honestly it would have been great to see at least another whole season of the procedural episodes before Will's encephalitis and Hannibal's manipulation became the focus.

The first season also features some truly memorable villains, like Molly Shannon as a woman who convinces kids to kill their families in "Ouef," which didn't air in the U.S. because of its proximity in time to the Sandy Hook school shooting, and Demore Barnes as Tobias Budge, who turns his victims into musical instruments in the intense but incredible "Fromage." While season 1 lacks some of the depth of seasons 2 and 3, it still makes for excellent television that elevates the police procedural into an operatic, campy delight.

Some fans felt frustrated by season 3 of "Hannibal" because it slowed things down a bit, moving away from the procedural format almost entirely and taking about half of the cast to Florence for some Italian crime-solving, drawing from Harris's novel "Hannibal." The first half of the season sticks around Florence, and while it's not as eventful as what came before, it is truly sumptuous viewing. Seriously, I could watch Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) shop for groceries in a little store and walk around the cobblestone streets for hours. But it's when everyone gets back to the U.S. that season 3 gets great, adapting Harris's "Red Dragon." Even if someone hated the Florence half of season 3, Fuller's take on "Red Dragon" is beyond exquisite and more than makes up for it.

Leaning into the homoerotic subtext of earlier seasons, Will and Hannibal finally have their dance of death as they circle serial killer Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), the titular Red Dragon. Every adaptation choice is superb, as is the casting. Armitage is terrifying but sympathetic, while Rutina Wesley is devastating as his blind but capable love interest, Reba. They also wisely don't kill off Freddie Lounds (the magnificent Lara Jean Chorostecki), who has an expanded role and was changed from a man to a woman (and made significantly less slimy). And while Will and Hannibal don't get their happy ending, Margot and Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) get to live happily ever after, a rarity for queer characters in television.

"Hannibal" was a luxurious, indulgent television series that followed its tortured murder-daddies into the darkness. In a perfect world, there would be more. You can't have a fancy three-course meal without dessert!