Bryan Fuller is preparing to amaze television audiences all over again.

If there’s anything that could mitigate the mourning fans experienced in the wake of the cancellation of "Hannibal," it’s the news that the writer/producer is developing a new version of Steven Spielberg's fantastical 1980s anthology series "Amazing Stories" for NBC.

With new tales already percolating in his head, the creator of “Dead Like Me,” “Wonderfalls” and “Pushing Daisies” spoke with SPINOFF about his plans for the series, his fond memories of the original, and exactly what one says to Spielberg when he offers you the reins of one of his properties.

Spinoff Online: You’ve got to be stoked about "Amazing Stories.” It sounds like such a great, fertile, creative opportunity for you. Tell me about it all coming together for you.

Bryan Fuller: Well, I got a call from Steven Spielberg’s office and went in and sat down with him, and he said he was a big fan of “Hannibal” and loved how it was produced, and asked me if I would produce “Amazing Stories,” and I said, "I will do whatever you want me to do, Mr. Spielberg."

Tell me about your memories of the original “Amazing Stories.”

That was mid-‘80s, and there are so many wonderful episodes. I think the ones that stand out for me are, of course, of Mark Hamill [in "Gather Ye Acorns"] – being a collector myself! Also, when that cartoon artist drew the wheel of the plane and allowed them to land [in the Spielberg-directed "The Mission"}. Those things are so vivid and I get chills whenever I talk about that animated wheel saving everyone’s lives. I hope that we are able to give a new audience that feeling.

 

Are you expecting to bring in some of the A-list directors, equivalent to what the original series had?

That’s definitely our goal. It’s every bit as much amazing storytellers as it is amazing stories, so we definitely want a fantastic set of writers and directors and actors. And because it’s a new story every week, it’s very exciting that we’ll be able to work with so many wonderful people under the umbrella of “Amazing Stories.”

Tell me more about the anthology quality and what that inspires in you to be able to wipe the slate clean after each episode?

Well, I think there’s something gratifying about being able to tell a story, and then have the end have some meaning. In television, we’re always creating stories that go on. I think the way I’ve told the pilot stories that I’ve written, there’s always a sense of an ending anyway. So “Pushing Daisies” could be in “Amazing Stories,” and “Dead Like Me” could have been in “Amazing Stories,” and “Wonderfalls” could have been in “Amazing Stories.”

So it’s exciting to work with Mr. Spielberg and collaborate and bring my sensibility to the Amblin brand, because I loved all of them: I loved “Gremlins,” I loved “Innerspace" – that whole era of film in the ‘80s was such a sentimental experience, and it’s an incredible honor to be bringing that back to a television element, that sense of wonder that we have in the cinemas, bringing that to the fine folks who are watching NBC.

Do you want to try the more experimental moves, like Tim Burton's animated “Family Dog" episode – things like that?

I would love for us to take some chances. It’s interesting because every story is either approved or not approved by Steven. So I present a bunch of stories to him, and then he picks the ones that he likes and we develop them.

What did you love about learning how Steven felt about “Amazing Stories” in your conversations with him?

It’s so interesting because he’s such a childhood hero of mine. I wrote him letters as a kid after I watched “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” I should ask him if he got it, and let him know that I changed by address. It’s that kind of honor.

Would you ever want to do a sequel to one of the original episodes, or bring back one of the creative teams – one of the directors, or one of the writers?

Well, oh, my God, yes. Yeah! There are so many! Brad Bird cut his teeth on “Amazing Stories.” I worked with Todd Holland, who directed “Amazing Stories.”

Let's talk “Hannibal.” Do you think there’s ultimately going to be a place where you can tell more of that story?

I hope so, because I think it has to lie fallow for a couple of years, and then we’re going to try to relaunch it. I think the way we ended it really facilitates a restart in a couple of years, because it went over a cliff.

And that’s how the business works in the franchise era – fan bases grow and build anticipation and demand for a revival. There will certainly be an appetite for sure in a couple years for your show.

I can wait two years, hopefully the fans will wait two years, and we can work out everyone’s schedule. I know that Mads [Mikkelson] and Hugh [Dancy] are very interested and adamant about returning and continuing to tell that story. Working with those two actors was a unique experience. I don’t think I will have again – it will be different, but that level of collaboration and camaraderie and communication between actors and a showrunner was one of a kind.

Do you, in your head, already know the very first scene in the next incarnation of "Hannibal"?

Oh, yeah. I know exactly what it is.