'Hannibal' gets a premiere date on NBC, will air on Thursdays

NBC will turn to a serial killer to try to revive its Thursday-night fortunes.

"Hannibal" creator Bryan Fuller tweeted late Thursday (Feb. 14) that the show will premiere at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, April 4. NBC has confirmed the date, and also released the above photo of Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale") as Hannibal Lecter.

"Hannibal" is based on characters from Thomas Harris' series of Lecter novels, but it begins before the events of "Red Dragon," Harris' first novel featuring the character. It will chronicle the relationship between FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Lecter, who works with Graham as a consultant to track a killer. Graham doesn't yet know that Lecter himself is a serial killer.

The series also stars Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford, Graham's boss at the FBI, and Caroline Dhavernas, who worked with Fuller on "Wonderfalls," as Dr. Alana Bloom, a psychiatrist who also consults with the bureau. Former "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson and "Veep's" Anna Chlumsky will have guest roles.