Ask the Fans: 'Hannibal' Showrunner Bryan Fuller Responds to Your Answers

With more than a calendar year separating Hannibal’s Season 2 finale and this week’s Season 3 premiere, it’s fair to say fans are positively starving for another helping of NBC’s hypnotic serial-killer drama.

So to whet their appetite for Season 3, we reached out to Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller to participate in our Ask the Fans series, where we get TV producers to pose the questions they’ve always wanted to ask fans, and then collect fans’ answers and report them back to the producers.

Fuller graciously accepted, and came up with six questions for Hannibal fans (aka “Fannibals”). Hundreds of fans responded, and we took those answers back to Fuller to get his take. Let’s get this sumptuous meal started…

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: Of all the guest killers you’ve seen on Hannibal, who would you bring back?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: We got a wide variety of responses on this one, but there was one clear favorite: Matthew Brown, the hospital orderly played by Jonathan Tucker who admired what he thought were Will Graham’s murders — and who almost managed to kill Hannibal before Jack took him into custody. “He was wonderfully intense and has gotten closer than anyone (except maybe Will) to actually outsmarting Hannibal,” Jess Goodwin writes. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that he looks good with his shirt off. As Suzy QS put it, “If you don’t have time to dress him, the Speedo is fine!”

Other fan favorites: Dr. Abel Gideon, the killer surgeon played by Eddie Izzard (Nemi Nodskov asks, “How could you not fall for a character who has enough spunk to compliment the chef on the taste of his own leg?”); Tobias Budge, the refined murderer who made musical instruments from his victims (“He gave us an amazing fight scene with Hannibal,” Victoria says, “and I would love to see a power struggle between two alpha serial killers”); and Katherine Pimms, the acupuncturist played by Amanda Plummer who filled her victims’ bodies with bees (Morgan Colbert had a daydream about her where she “kept a really sweet bee colony under her hospital/jail bed and could continue her reign of terror and awesomeness”).

FULLER RESPONDS: [On Matthew Brown:] I kind of suspected. [Laughs.] I had spoken with Jonathan Tucker about bringing him back this season, and we just didn’t have room with all the Francis Dolarhyde story that we were doing. But I love Jonathan, and would leap at any chance to work with him again. They should be watching him on Kingdom; he’s fantastic.

We have an Abel Gideon story in the very first episode [of Season 3], and we flash back to what happens to Abel’s remaining limbs. I love working with Eddie, and I hope to keep working with him. He’s, I think, one of the greatest minds of our generation, in terms of not just his comedy, but his philosophy. I love that he promotes thought in comedy.

[On Tobias Budge:] Yes, played by Demore Barnes. One of the regrets of casting him in that role was that we had to kill him off. [Laughs.] I so loved what he brought to the role, and the dinner scene with him and Mads [Mikkelsen] was particularly special for me, because it was the first time that Hannibal spoke openly about who he is. Even as coy as he was in his responses, it was the first brush of seeing Hannibal for the killer that he is in the series.

[On Katherine Pimms:] Yay! [Plummer] has got to be one of the cast’s favorite guest stars. I remember the day that Laurence [Fishburne] and Aaron [Abrams] and Scott [Thompson] were filming with Amanda in her acupuncture studio. And all three of them raved about the experience afterwards, because she was so in tune with her environment, and made everything authentic. Scott Thompson’s stomach growled during a scene, and she reacted and asked if he was hungry. [Laughs.] Laurence, in particular, was actually demonstratively ecstatic about the experience. He said it was one of the most fun days of the shoot. Yeah, [Katherine] is alive and well. I would love for her to come back in some capacity.

We absolutely have talked about bringing Jonathan Tucker back. Jonathan, Amanda… and Lance Henriksen is someone in particular we’ve talked about bringing back quite a bit. And [Eldon] Stammets, our mushroom man; we’ve talked about doing a great prison cell for him that is essentially wall-to-wall mushrooms. One of the fun things about doing this show, particularly in the first two seasons, when there were guest actors coming in weekly, was the crazy amount of talent that we got to work with. So it’s always in the back of my mind, trying to wedge in a way to bring back some of these actors, because they were so delightful.

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: What is your favorite meal, and how would you make it with people?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: The responses to this one were all over the map… literally. Hannibal has a strong international fan base, and that’s reflected in the foods suggested here: Japanese ramen, Italian veal saltimbocca, German schnitzel, Korean bibimbap, Argentinian empanadas, Indian chicken curry, Venezuelan hayacas, and Russian borscht, among many others.

But the top answer we got was a perennial favorite: pizza. Fans suggested slicing human flesh into pepperoni (“I would probably seek Hannibal’s assistance in making people pepperoni,” Candice S. says) or grinding it up to make sausage. Other popular responses: sushi, hamburgers, tacos, and (of course) bacon. “My favorite meal being breakfast, I might try to make bacon,” Emily Bryan says, “but only if the person had a really nice butt.”

Some fans got frighteningly specific when detailing which human body parts they’d feast on; Katie Sipos tells us (confesses?), “I would definitely use the psoas major muscle running the sides of the spine into the pelvic bone — it would have the appropriate tenderness.” And many fans share Hannibal’s hatred of “rude” people; Sydney Leonard says, “I would make beef Stroganoff, but with the thigh meat of an Internet troll.”

Photos: Check Out Pics From ‘Hannibal’ Season 3

FULLER RESPONDS: Freddy Krueger had a soul pepperoni pizza in one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. And pizza is such a beloved food of mine. In my hometown, there’s a fantastic pizzeria that is frequently listed on the top 10 pizza places you have to go to before you die: It’s called Fazzari’s Finest. It was Abby’s Pizza when I was growing up, and then the Fazzari brothers who worked at Abby’s purchased it and turned it into Fazzari’s Finest. And it was a culinary staple of my youth.

There’s so much fun to do with pizza. Because you can just shave meat, however you want it to be presented, and put it on cheese and bread and tomato sauce or pesto sauce or sauerkraut… in my hometown, there’s actually a great pizza called the Shotsy Pizza that’s made with sauerkraut and a white sauce. 

[On sushi:] There was a cannibal who went on record saying that he bit some part of someone off — it may have been the cheek — and he said that it melted in his mouth like a fine toro.

[On what meal he would choose:] I am a big fan of beef Wellington, and actually, [Hannibal actress] Ellen Greene makes an amazing beef Wellington. There’s something so delicious about a pre-made sandwich of that caliber. [Laughs.] I haven’t had red meat in a long time, but I would have Ellen Greene’s beef Wellington again in a heartbeat.

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: Do you really hate cliffhangers, or do you love to hate cliffhangers?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: By and large, Hannibal fans love to hate cliffhangers. (As Harper Blanks puts it, “the pain hurts so good.”) And that’s good, because Hannibal’s Season 2 finale left a lot of plot threads unresolved… and a lot of lives hanging in the balance. “It felt like a Greek communal bloodbath — so cleansing and cathartic,” Ivana Blaskova says.

But they do have a few caveats: One, the cliffhanger absolutely cannot fall on a series finale. “There’s nothing worse than a show that ends on a cliffhanger and then is canceled,” Emma Richards says. And two, the cliffhanger has to be earned creatively, and not immediately resolved at the start of the next season. Rotem R. is all for a good cliffhanger, “AS LONG as it pays out, and isn’t brushed away and fixed five minutes into the next episode.”

Most of all, though, fans credit the Season 2 cliffhanger with bringing the Fannibals together and allowing them to bond while sharing their theories about what’s next for the show. Like Samantha McLaren says, “We spend an entire year speculating and writing/drawing alternate endings and new possibilities, and it’s just a great way to generate anticipation for the show’s return.”

FULLER RESPONDS: I’m just always curious, as an audience member, how cliffhangers are received. For me, I remember, as a kid and young adult, looooving them. I loved when Riker went against a Borg-ified Picard [on Star Trek: The Next Generation]; I could still be waiting to this day for the conclusion of that story, and remain satisfied in what they brought back to us. I’ve always gotten a thrill out of the cliffhanger because of that sense of anticipation, and that communal experience.

I remember the first season of Twin Peaks, David Lynch packed that finale with cliffhangers. Every character had some sort of treacherous, high-stakes story that was cut off right in the middle of it, and he designed that to essentially blackmail ABC into picking it up for a second season. So I’m a big fan of them. I hear people who hate it because they want the satisfaction, but I just love sustaining that note.

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: In honor of the Red Dragon, what great work of art would you or have you had tattooed on your body?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Not too many Fannibals have great works of art tattooed on their bodies yet… but they have a lot of classic paintings in mind if they do ever take the plunge. Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” Munch’s “The Scream,” and Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” are popular picks, along with more violent, Hannibal-appropriate works like Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” (“It’s dark and gruesome and strikingly beautiful, like the show. Oh yeah, and someone’s getting eaten. I refuse to believe Hannibal doesn’t have a copy of this piece somewhere in his house!” Amanda Tally says), Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” and Picasso’s “Guernica.”

And a few fans would opt to get quotes from great authors imprinted on their skin, like the works of Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Hannibal author Thomas Harris. As Robin puts it, “Literature totally counts, right?”

FULLER RESPONDS: I love Hieronymus Bosch. When I went to Guillermo del Toro’s man cave, he had Hieronymus Bosch action figures. And it was all I could do not to pocket them before leaving.

I love that they transferred art into literature, which is a wonderful expression of art. As a writer, I’m frequently seeing turns of phrases that I have no problem depicting on my canvas. [Laughs.] Quotes from The Great Gatsby… there are so many wonderful turns of phrases that have been expressed, so I love that that’s been included as an art form, because it absolutely is. The structure of words, the collection of them, the assembly of a sentence: There’s a lot of wonderment in the random placement of words for meaning. [Laughs.] 

I’m a big fan of Francis Bacon, and there are some very disturbing pictures that I could see as beautiful tattoos. But I don’t think there’s any wrong answer: I think if something inspires you and speaks to your soul, and you want to have it marked on your flesh as well as your soul, I think that’s a wonderful way to express yourself. I love body art. I think it’s fascinating. Ten years ago, I got my first one, and now I’m going back to get another. I suppose part of it is the fetishization of the Red Dragon tattoo, and thinking a lot about that, and saying, “OK, it’s time for another tattoo for me."

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: What is the ideal length of a television season? 10 episodes? 13? 15? 22?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: If we had to average out your answers, it’d probably fall somewhere in the 13-to-15 episode range. (As it happens, Hannibal currently has 13 episodes per season.) Most fans feel like 22 episodes is fine for a sitcom, but too many for a serialized drama, because it can lead to filler. "13 is the sweet spot for me,” Tyler Heberle says. “22 is WAY TOO LONG, and while 10 can mean a bit more consistency, I always find myself wanting more."

Of course, there were a few fans for whom too much is never enough; "Infinity plus one, for a Hannibal season,” one unnamed fan requests. And some fans vote for splitting up Hannibal seasons into two halves, like The Walking Dead. But quality over quantity, essentially, is what fans are looking for. Andria McConnell puts it in a way that Hannibal Lecter himself would appreciate: “It’s like a great big meal, and you don’t want to overeat."

FULLER RESPONDS: For me, 10 to 15, depending on the story, is ideal. The first job I had as a television writer was Star Trek: Voyager, and there were 24 episodes, and it was backbreaking. Not so much for the staff writer, but for the showrunner — looking at that haul and seeing the ebb in energy and storytelling that happens right about the 13 mark, and you sort of re-enthuse yourself by the time you get to 18 or 19, but there’s a fallow period of no big returns. And I can’t imagine now, after doing 13-episode seasons and barely crawling to the finish line, to be able to control the quality in the way we do in 13 episodes for more than that. 10 to 13, I would say.

But I love that cable model. And because it’s bite-size-able, it’s easy to binge. Like, I didn’t see any of Game of Thrones until the fourth season, and then I binge-watched the first three and caught up to the fourth season in progress. And it was such an achievable binge, because it’s ten episodes. It felt like you could burn through three to five a sitting, depending on if you’re on a plane or feeling incredibly lazy. [Laughs.] 

[On the idea of splitting each season into two halves:] I love that idea, and I adore The Walking Dead. It’s one of the few shows I watch as it airs. I had suggested the possibility of that this season with Hannibal, that we could do the Italian chapter in the summer and then perhaps do Red Dragon in the fall. But I think that messes up a lot of international broadcasting that wants to share it in one run. But I love that model, splitting up the seasons. It gives us mini arcs so we can be intense with the storytelling and not tread water. 

BRYAN FULLER ASKS: In honor of Will Graham, have you adopted a pet, and if not, what are you waiting for?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: There are plenty of dedicated animal lovers among the Fannibals, who report adopting everything from the usual dogs and cats to fish, birds, rabbits, turtles, hamsters, rats, horses, hermit crabs, and tarantulas. And fans who haven’t yet adopted a pet have pretty good excuses, ranging from allergies to apartments with no-pet policies to a lack of funds. "Once I get a job, though, nothing will stand in the way of my dream of becoming a crazy cat lady,” Astrid assures us.

Hannibal has inspired quite a few pet names among the fans, too: “My girlfriend’s one-year-old kitty is named Will Graham, and he’s the cutest, stupidest creature ever,” Lizzen says. And Charlotte Cordery tells us, “My auntie had adopted a dog from one of the nearby centers, and I convinced her to call him Winston!” Plus, Will Graham’s love of dogs inspired Tonya Motova to give back: "Because of Hannibal, I went to work at the animal shelter, so, in a sense, now I have more dogs than Will ever had.“

FULLER RESPONDS: That’s great. I read something recently about a woman who’s writing the things she’s learned as she’s about to turn 60, and one of them was the closest thing you get to experiencing God is looking into your animal’s eyes. I love animals. It’s been an interesting journey writing for Hannibal, as someone who has such an appreciation for animals and has read so much about animals’ sophistication and emotional intelligence, and working on a show about cannibalism and really having that line blurred between animal and man, when you’re talking about meat.

One of the things I enjoyed so much about working with [culinary consultant] José Andrés: In our first conversations, I thought, "Oh, is he going to be a little squeamish about the eating of people?” And he was like, “No, meat is meat is meat. If you’re eating meat, then you have to accept that meat is flavorful.” And there was something about that approach that I felt was also, in a strange way, respectful of animals. Because if you are a meat eater, then meat is meat, and it shouldn’t be so horrific when you stop to think about how intelligent and emotionally sophisticated so many animals that we do eat are. So there’s a certain glee for me in writing about cannibalism and thinking like, “Yeah, there’s a lot of people I would rather eat than animals.” [Laughs.]

Season 3 of Hannibal premieres Thursday, June 4 at 10 p.m. on NBC.