NBC has renewed Hannibal, based on the Hannibal Lecter character popularized in Silence of the Lambs, for a second season.

The late renewal, three weeks after the lagging network announced its fall schedule and the fate of most other series, comes as the show, starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen and Laurence Fishburne, approaches the end of its freshman run on June 20. The soonest it will return is early 2014.

Hannibal is averaging a low 4.7 million viewers, including delayed DVR viewing, but programmers pointed to critical praise for the series created by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls). It's based on the character from the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon.

"We're so proud of Bryan's vision for a show that is richly textured, psychologically complex, and very compelling," said NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke, in a statement. "There are many great stories still to be told." source