NBC je, van tradicionalnog razvojnog puta, naručio 13 epizoda prve sezone moderne adaptacije romana i filmova o kanibalskom serijskom ubojici, Hannibalu Lecteru. Serija će se fokusirati na odnos FBI agenta Willa Grahama i njegovog mentora Dr. Hannibala Lectera, kojeg će kasnije upravo agent Graham uloviti. Uloge, dakle, još nisu podijeljene i ostaje nam vidjeti tko će dobiti izuzetno nezahvalnu ulogu koja je prethodno pripadala Anthonyju Hopkinsu. Planirana je kao policijski procedural, a ne psihološki triler kao original. Bryan Fuller, autor serija Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me i Pushing Daisies, potpisuje scenarij pilota.

They're ordinary husband and wife realtors until she undergoes a dramatic change that sends them down a road of death and destruction. In a good way.

After causing a major incident, police officer Daigo Agawa takes his wife and daughter to live in the remote mountain village of Kuge. It seems the perfect place to recover from the ordeal, despite the mysterious disappearance of a previous officer posted there. One day, the body of an old woman is found on the mountain. The Goto family says she was attacked by a bear, but Daigo notices a human bite mark. It soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems in the village.

A journalist races to learn the truth when human remains are found in the home of self-proclaimed Satanist "Pazuzu".