Hannibal will soon be taking a bite out of NBC’s Thursday lineup.

Bryan Fuller’s long-awaited TV adaptation will premiere onThursday, April 4 at 10/9c, the network confirms.

A contemporary take on the characters from Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon novel, Hannibal focuses on the fledgling relationship between FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and his mentor Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen, pictured below).

Hannibal will fill the void left by Do No Harm, which was pulled off the schedule last week after two low-rated episodes. (Law & Order: SVU encores will occupy the Thursday-at-10 perch through March.)

The stellar cast also includes Laurence Fishburne as FBI agent Jack Crawford and Wonderfalls’ Caroline Dhavernas as an FBI consultant. X-Files’ Gillian Anderson will also appear as Lecter’s shrink.

Hannibal will roll out internationally across Sony Pictures Television Networks’ AXN international channels in the days following the NBC premiere.

Scroll down for a first look at Mikkelsen’s Hannibal and his tasty meal. Is that a nice Chianti we see?