'Hannibal,' 'Castle' Get Episodes Switched in Respect for Boston Bombings

In the wake of the tragedy that has unfolded in Boston this week along with all the recent sad events in the country, NBC announced Friday that it would be pulling an episode of its new crime thriller, “Hannibal,” which is based on the classic “The Silence of the Lambs."

It stars Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne, and Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter.

Next week’s episode was to follow a character played by Molly Shannon who brainwashed children into murdering other children.

Executive producer for the show Bryan Fuller, according to NBC spokesman Stuart Levine, requested that NBC pull that episode. Fuller cited consideration for the Newtown school shooting and the incidents of this week.

NBC says the episode, the fourth in the show, will be replaced by another. Levine says that viewers should not notice any issue in plot continuity.

He added that a “clip package” will be available on NBC.com next week, with scenes from the unaired episode (child violence removed), and a commentary by Fuller.

ABC has also delayed one of its episodes of “Castle,” in which Detective Kate Beckett steps onto a pressure-sensitive bomb. It had been scheduled to air Monday, but will be pushed back “out of respect,” says Stana Katic, who plays the character.

“Family Guy,” we reported earlier, was removing one of its episodes from online streaming, as it dealt with terrorism and the Boston Marathon in the same episode. An edited clip went viral after it mashed the two storylines together in a tasteless “prediction” of events, sparking conspiracy theories.