Will Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Pick Up Hannibal?

hannibal removed by hulu on amazon prime

Bad news Hannibal fans…

As we’re certain you’re already aware, Hannibal got cancelled today, as NBC has announced the show will not be picked up following the third season.

Showrunner Bryan Fuller has been tweeting pretty actively the past few hours regarding the cancellation, answering fans questions cryptically, saying things like they’re considering all options, and nothing is off the table yet.

There has been a lot of speculation the past hour about whether or not Hannibal would end up on a streaming service, and our money is 99.9% on that being the most likely outcome here. Hannibal has a passionate fan base, and the odds seem extremely good that a subscription service would love to cash in on that crowd.

Obviously Mr. Fuller can’t say anything specific, but let’s put our speculation pants on and take a few guesses at what major service ends up picking Hannibal up as an exclusive.

Will Hannibal Get Picked up by Netflix?

Of the three major services, Hannibal on Netflix actually seems the least likely. To be frank, Hannibal would make a great original for Netflix, but it seems relatively likely that Netflix will simply get outbid by other services who have more tie-in already with the show. More on that later, but I would mark this one as a “small possibility.” Since the earlier seasons aren’t already available on Netflix, it makes this one seem currently out of reach.

Will Hannibal Get Picked up by Hulu?

Now this is where things get interesting. Hulu was streaming Hannibal in its entirety for a while, only to have the claws of Amazon Prime grasp it suddenly and with no regard for human life. However, the NBC partial ownership of Hulu makes for an interesting possibility here. Hulu has been making some big acquisitions lately, most notably buying the exclusive rights to The Mindy Project from FOX. If it wasn’t for Amazon Prime’s exclusive deal, this would almost seem like a no-brainer.

Will Hannibal Get Picked up by Amazon Prime?

If I was a betting man, this is where I would put my money. I think it’s likely a coin flip between Hulu and Amazon Prime getting the rights to stream Hannibal, but something about Amazon’s recent announcements of wanting to spend more on content makes me believe they’ll make a play here to outbid other SVODs.

Regardless, network television lost a great show today, but how fun is it knowing that the odds a major streaming service picks it up are so good.