Did illegal downloads lead to Hannibal‘s cancellation? In an article for The Hill, the series’ executive producer Martha de Laurentiis says pirating contributed to the end of the NBC serial killer drama.

NBC cancelled Hannibal in 2015 after three seasons.

De Laurentiis, who is speaking on Capitol Hill this week about the negative effects of piracy, wrote that illegal downloading affected the production budget of Hannibal:

When nearly one-third of the audience for “Hannibal” is coming from pirated sites — despite the fact that a legitimate download for each episode was available the following day — you don’t have to know calculus to do the math. If a show is stolen, it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to fairly compensate a crew and keep a series in production.”

In 2013, Hannibal was the “fifth-most illegally downloaded show,” according to de Laurentiis. In the article, she added that while it is uncertain if piracy directly led to the series’ cancellation, illegal downloading is at least “partly responsible”:

Did pirates kill “Hannibal”? Unfortunately, that is a cliffhanger that might last for a while. With more than 2 million viewers watching our show illegally, it’s hard not to think online pirates were, at the very least, partly responsible for hundreds of crew members losing their jobs and millions of fans — who watched the show legitimately — mourning the loss of a beloved program.”

What do you think? Do you agree with de Laurentiis? Do you think Hannibal should’ve been renewed?