NBC’s brilliant adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal has added a new member to its already strong cast today. According to TV Line – who broke the news exclusively – Hugh Dancy’s tortured Will Graham will finally find peace with his new love interest played by Broadway star, Nina Arianda. This will mark a reunion for the pair, as they previously worked together on the stage in a Broadway production of Venus In Fur.
Cast opposite Dancy, Ariadne will portray the FBI profiler’s new bride, Molly. A single mother, she has been described as “a strong, vibrant thirty-something who is not only unperturbed by her husband’s dark and occasionally tortured past — but has worked to help him overcome it. She understands that Will is a good man, and her love has allowed him to rebuild himself. But when Will is asked to return to the FBI, she also urges him to try and save lives, knowing what risks this entails.”
While Arianda’s biggest splash has been on Broadway, she isn’t a stranger to the small screen as her prior TV credits include brief stints on The Good Wife, 30 Rock and Hostages. She will join returning Hannibal stalwarts Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy and Caroline Dhavernas, along with Gillian Anderson, who landed a promotion to series regular, and Richard Armitage, who recently bagged the role of The Tooth Fairy.
With the series expected to begin sometime this summer, TV Line went on to reveal that we won’t see Arianda for some time. As part of a narrative leap that takes place mid-season, Molly will make her debut in the series in episode eight, which catches up with Will and co. several years later. This jump has been leveraged into the show to allow for Will’s personal life to undergo faster changes than it would if the show carried on at its normal pace.
We’ll keep you posted with any updates on Hannibal, including the imminent announcement of its summer return.
