The show establishes and puts a good deal of focus on the relationship between Hannibal and Will, extrapolating from the source material to show how much damage Hannibal does to Will. Instead of picking up here, Hannibal begins years earlier with Graham starting his profiling career and Lecter still free and practising psychiatry. The story revolves around former FBI profiler Will Graham coming out of retirement to catch a killer, three years after he was scarred mentally and physically by Lecter. Years before he became an iconic cinematic villain, Hannibal was introduced as a supporting character in the 1981 Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon. Hannibal is an adaptation of the series of books featuring the character of Doctor Hannibal Lecter.
