Hannibal

Network - NBC
Genre - crime, drama, thriller, prequel
My rating - 4 stars out of 5

It's another prequel series, they seem to be popular at the moment.  Also popular at the moment are shows with more than your average amount of blood and gore.  Hannibal definitely doesn't shy away from this format.  So much so that the show was in fact pulled from one regional channel due to it's violent content.

Characters are well written and the story line keeps you guessing.  I'm only 4 episodes in but I will be interested to see how the season develops.  Interestingly should the series get renewed then all seasons will only consist of 13 episodes, unlucky for some.

UPDATE - I got slightly further into the season and sad to say I lost interest.  I still haven't managed to finish the season and it's now January 2014.  I'm not sure where it all went sour for me, I just didn't find the storyline compelling enough to compete with some of the other stuff out there vying for my time.

The Following

Network - Fox (US) Sky (UK)
Genre - drama, crime, thriller
My rating - 4 stars out of 5

I hadn't heard positive things about this show. Mostly that it should have just been a movie not a series. I agree to some extent, in that it would have made a good film but story development really does have the pace of television.

Unfortunately, and as with many shows of this genre, you are left wondering where the FBI manages to find such unintelligent agents who are really slow on the uptake. I think this is as a result of the storyline being somewhat predictable in places.

Worth a watch.  Oh and it's been renewed for a second series...

Bates Motel

Network - A&E (US) Universal (UK)
Genre - drama, thriller, prequel
My rating - 4 stars out of 5

The prequel series to the well known movie that needs no introduction...
I'm 4 episodes in to season 1 and so far I'm quite impressed. The storyline is fast paced and there is plenty to hold your attention. There are some well thought out twists that mostly haven't been at all predictable.
I'm giving this only 4 stars for now as it's still in it's infancy and I fear it could go end up going either way for me.

So far there had been some award worthy acting from the main characters playing really well developed characters. Let's hope it continues...