Thrillers That Could Replace 'Hannibal'

Fans of NBC's prequel to Silence of the Lambs received some bad news on Monday, June 22, as it was announced that Hannibal has been cancelled after three addictively gory seasons. For those who are still feeling jolted by the loss of the critically acclaimed thriller, series creator, Bryan Fuller, still has hope that Hannibal could wind up returning on another platform. If we've learned anything from shows like Family Guy, The Mindy Project, and Arrested Development, it's that the word "cancellation" doesn't necessarily mean the end to a beloved series, so hold onto hope, guys! It also appears promising that in recent years there has been a trend of horror successfully foraying from motion pictures to television, with such shows like Fox's The Following. Yes, The Following has also been cancelled, so maybe that wasn't the most prudent example, but what about hits like FX's American Horror Story ? That series has been going strong since its debut in 2011, and it could be argued that its success has led to inspiration for more series to play to horror fanatics, such as ABC's spine-tingling series, The Whispers.

I understand some of these sentiments may fall flat for Hannibal fans going through the stages of cancellation grief. I was inconsolable when Freaks and Geeks got canned after only one measly season, so trust me when I say I know. Obviously, Hannibal's NBC slot will need to be vacated, as will other slots as TV shows come and go. As Hannibal deftly paid tribute to the classic film, Silence of the Lambs, wouldn't it be great to see other series spawned in the same vein? I have some ideas...

The Shining

I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about this terrifying classic from 1980! Being that the massive hotel featured in The Shining basically had a different paranormal apparition hanging out at every corner, one movie simply wasn't enough to learn each ghost's story. Maybe a series could expound on the history of The Shining's Overlook Hotel, and how past guests became permanent fixtures.

The Sixth Sense

It's been over a decade since The Sixth Sense was released, and I'd be very interested to know if Haley Joel Osment's character still has the ability to see dead people.

The Ring

I probably wouldn't be able to sleep with the lights off ever again if this film became a television series, but I'd still seriously enjoy it.

Shaun Of The Dead

This campy classic from 2004 deftly blended side-splitting laughs with horror. I know we already have AMC's The Walking Dead to get our zombie fix, but Shaun of the Dead was just too good of a movie, IMHO, to not be made into a series.

The Blair Witch Project

OK, I'm sort of biased here, because 1999's The Blair Witch Project took place in Maryland, which is where I live. Still, the film was one of the first to cleverly operate in mock documentary form, which may have been the inspiration for later hits like Paranormal Activity. Honestly, I just really want to learn about who that witch actually was and why she was so territorial about that forest she wreaked havoc in.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

With MTV's upcoming Scream series (based on the 1996 thriller) poised to whet our unremitting appetites for '90s nostalgia, why not throw another one in the mix? There is no such thing as too many '90s reboots, as far as I'm concerned.

Jurassic World

I know the movie just came out — and Chris Pratt is poised to make a bunch of Jurassic World sequels — but hear me out. If we've learned anything from the film franchise, it's that dinosaurs are awesome, and there's no limit to the amount of dinosaurs we'd like to appear onscreen. If I could set my DVR to a weekly dinosaur fix, I would be one very happy lady.

Images: NBC (1); Giphy (7)