It used to be that watching something labeled as a “horror series” on network television meant suspenseful sequences with ominous music and lots of things jumping out onto the screen. If you really wanted to see something gory or twisted, you had to go to cable. Now it seems that NBC wants to push the boundaries with this new trailer for their horror series ‘Hannibal’.

The trailer goes much more in-depth than the international trailer that we posted a few weeks ago and really explains what the show will be about – despite all the blood, body parts and gore seen. It does an excellent job in introducing the characters especially the young FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Darcy) who has an uncanny ability to empathize with serial killers and really get into their heads. Also shown is the reason Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) is called in to partner with the returning agent, which is creepy onto itself especially since we see Lector doing a lot of eating and cooking.

The show is based on the Thomas Harris’ book series featuring the cannibalistic doctor and his early years before we’ve come to known him as the monster in ‘Silence of the Lambs’. While the series looks well put together, it comes as a surprise as Bryan Fuller is usually associated with more fanciful cinematography and not the extremely graphic scenes that is seen in the trailer. None the less, it’s very refreshing to see network television attempt to gain audiences that normally head over to AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ or Showtime’s ‘Dexter’.)

While I have high hopes for the series, it is a concern that ‘Hannibal’ will be airing at the Thursday, 10PM slot which has defeated other genre shows such as ‘Awake’ and ‘Do No Harm’ from ever seeing a second season.

Will this be the fate of ‘Hannibal’? Check out the trailer below and see if you think the show can succeed on network TV or if it’s better suited for cable:

‘Hannibal’ premieres on NBC on Thursday, April 4th.