NBC is moving low-rated shows 'Hannibal' and 'Aquarius' to Saturdays

NBC is shifting "Hannibal" and "Aquarius" to its Saturday schedule effective immediately, an individual with knowledge of the decision told Business Insider.

"Aquarius," which stars David Duchovny as a special agent on the trail of a young Charles Manson, will air at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

"Hannibal," which is wrapping its run after the current third season, will follow in the 10 p.m. time slot.

"Dateline Thursday Mysteries" will replace the dramas in the 9-11 p.m. time slots starting this Thursday.

Joe Flint of The Washington Journal broke the news on Twitter, saying that the "move is to appease affiliates not happy with their numbers."

It's indeed a strange move as it could be expected for the canceled "Hannibal," but it isn't a vote of confidence for the recently renewed "Aquarius."

"Aquarius" is currently averaging a very low 0.73 rating with the advertiser-coveted 18-49-year-old demographic and only 3.8 million viewers. NBC had hoped to give the show a large promotional push by offering the entire season for streaming at the same time it premiered on TV.

Meanwhile, "Hannibal" is averaging a 0.48 rating in the advertiser demo and 1.67 million viewers in its final season. During San Diego Comic-Con, executive producer Bryan Fuller said that there may be a movie to continue the drama after Amazon and Netflix declined to pick the show up.