Clarice, the new TV series that serves as a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, focuses on Clarice Starling, the FBI investigators who works with Hannibal Lecter to unmask Buffalo Bill.
Based on that rule, Starling can be featured in the programme, but Lecter – whose creation predates The Silence of the Lambs – can’t.
As Clarice showrunner Elizabeth Klaviter told the publication, CBS holds the rights to characters introduced in The Silence of the Lambs, but not to those introduced prior to that.
But viewers shouldn’t expect any direct references to Lecter in the new programme, even though it takes place after the events depicted in The Silence of the Lambs.