13 "Offensive" TV Episodes That Embarrassed Their Creators

12. "Oeuf" - Hannibal

Hannibal Oeuf Molly Shannon
NBC

The fourth-ever episode of NBC's Hannibal was set to air on April 25, 2013, but creator Bryan Fuller pulled it five days before its U.S. broadcast due to thematic similarities to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which took place the prior December. Fuller said:

"With this episode, it wasn't about the graphic imagery or violence. It was the associations that came with the subject matter that I felt would inhibit the enjoyment of the overall episode. It was my own sensitivity...We want to be respectful of the social climate we're in right now."

The subject matter involved a mysterious woman (a brilliant Molly Shannon) brainwashing young boys into murdering their families, so it's fairly understandable. The episode still aired internationally though has never been aired on TV in the U.S., instead being quietly released on VOD services shortly after its original planned air date.

It's a pretty great episode, honestly, and thankfully NBC had the sense not to ditch it entirely.

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