Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal and Jodie
Foster as Clarice in The Silence of the Lambs
© MGM
NBC has had Hannibal -- a TV show exploring the early relationship between serial killer Hannibal Lecter and FBI profiler Will Graham (featured in Red Dragon and Manhunter) -- in the works for some time now (with a premiere set for midseason 2012-13), so it's a bit odd to find out that Lifetime is also developing a series from that universe. The Lifetime show, dubbed Clarice, will revolve around Clarice Starling, the protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, and will focus on her early work as an FBI agent -- presumably the time between those two films.
TV Guide's report doesn't preclude the possibility that Lecter will pop up in Clarice (although you wonder if NBC's show has some sort of proprietary rights to the character); indeed, you'd think that the shows producers would want to milk the agent-killer relationship for all it's worth. There's no word on an air date for Clarice -- it's still in the very early stages -- but you have to wonder if Lifetime will try to rush it into production to beat Hannibal to air.
Source: TV Guide
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