Viewers of the popular and widely acclaimed drama are calling for more
Netflix viewers continue to demand more Mindhunter, the psychological crime drama about the FBI agents in the 1970s who pioneered research into a phenomenon beginning to be understood — serial killers.
Across two series spanning 19 episodes, Mindhunter’s short tenure established it as Netflix’s best show in the eyes of many. Mindhunter followed the emergence of modern serial-killer profiling and the establishment of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.
It centred on two fictional investigators, Holden Ford and Bill Tench, as they sought to understand and apprehend serial killers by examining their psychology. The pair conduct interviews with notorious serial killers ranging from Charles Manson to the BTK killer as played by uncanny lookalikes. As one critic dubbed it, the actors stepping into the role of the killers are “unsettlingly good”.
“In the late 1970s two FBI agents expand criminal science by delving into the psychology of murder and getting uneasily close to all-too-real monsters,” the show’s description reads.
The programme takes its title from Mindhunter, the autobiographical work by the late FBI agent John Douglas, one of America’s pioneering criminal profilers.
Filmmaker David Fincher, who directed Fight Club and The Social Network, acted as executive producer alongside Charlize Theron. Since Mindhunter’s final episode in 2019, Fincher has played down prospects of another series.
But it might not be the end of the road for Mindhunter. Actor Holt McCallany, who portrays Bill Tench, suggested last summer that the programme could return as a film — or three.
“So look, you know, I had a meeting with David Fincher in his office a few months ago, and he said to me that there is a chance that it may come back as three two-hour movies, but I think it’s just a chance,” he told ScreenRant. “I know there are writers that are working, but you know, David has to be happy with scripts.”
In the meantime, both longtime devotees and newcomers can stream the critically acclaimed series on Netflix. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first series boasts an impressive 97% approval rating, which was subsequently surpassed by the second series’ remarkable 99% score.
“Mindhunter is probably the best thing Netflix ever did. Casting, writing, cinematography,” one viewer wrote on Reddit.
Another agreed: “Mindhunter is the best Netflix series ever made in my opinion. David Fincher is a genius. I’m so sad they dropped the making of season 3..”
The Boston Globe’s critique of the first series stated: “The scenes are seductively paced, the tone is almost noir, the period detail is solid but not distracting, and the soundtrack (including, of course, the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”) is always on point.”
“That Mindhunter manages to be a satisfying FBI mystery on top of that is a testament to its sharp directing and mostly smart writing, even as some threads never quite come together,” wrote Vanity Fair of the second series.
