Fans of broadcast’s most artful and gory crime drama will have to wait a little longer for season 3.

NBC is pushing Hannibal to the summer, the network’s entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt confirmed Friday. But that’s okay, because the network loves summer. “It’s a show we love, it’s critically acclaimed, we love it,” NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt said. “And we also love summer. We have exciting plans for summer.”

Previous seasons of the critically acclaimed series have aired in midseason. Given the show’s modest ratings, just continuing to have new Hannibal episodes is a network blessing of sorts. And who knows? Maybe the show will perform better when there’s less broadcast competition around.