NBC Releases Pulled ‘Hannibal’ Episode as Web Series (Video)

Mere days after pulling the fourth episode of Hannibal, NBC has released the hour online.

The hour, which features a storyline about children killing other children, was removed from the network’s schedule in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. The hour, titled “Ceuf,” has instead been released as a six-part web series and released Wednesday, a day before the fifth episode of the series.

STORY: Boston Bombing: ‘Hannibal’ Joins Growing List of Series to Pull Episodes

In a message to fans of the Silence of the Lambs prequel, showrunner Bryan Fuller explains that the episode details the relationship between Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) and Abigail Hobbs (Kacey Rohl). “As the series goes on, this relationship gets much more complicated and becomes a load-bearing element of our storytelling,” Fuller explains in a short message introducing Part 1. “We wanted to make sure that you have all the scenes in order to follow the story along.”

The episode, he notes, will still air in international markets but not in the U.S. The fifth episode of Hannibal airs Thursday at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Check out all six parts, and Fuller’s message, below.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit

and expect them to have a good time,” the showrunner says of the limits to what he can show on NBC’s new drama.”]