Netflix Canceled The Best True Crime Series Over Budget Concerns—Why A ‘Mindhunter’ Revival Would Be Worth Every Penny
Netflix struck TV series gold when Fight Club and Gone Girl director David Finch became the de facto showrunner for Mindhunter, the psychological crime thriller adapted from John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s 1995 book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, but after two successful seasons, and a four year long wait to determine the fate of its future, Fincher confirmed the series was officially over.
Following FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench and psychologist Wendy Carr, played by Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv respectively, the series unfolds the history of criminal profiling, the study of serial killers, and the founding of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. It’s a masterful umbrella under which to contain all of the most memorable stories from the genre, like a Hollywood franchise universe that replaces the superheroes or supernatural creatures with serial killers like Ed Kemper, Charles Manson, Son of Sam, BTK, and others.
Spanning from the late seventies to the early eighties, Mindhunter immersed viewers in its time period and technology, as well as the impacts both had on criminal investigations. With no social media or internet to scour, lead agents had to create different kinds of profiles to identify potential suspects in order to generate new leads and overcome evidentiary dead ends.
Receiving outstanding reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the series is still worth a watch today, even with its premature ending. But there are still so many elements that are literally begging for Fincher to reconsider a third season.
The rich character development and ethical examination of Holden’s dive deeper and deeper into the psyche of brutal killers, while questioning the very reasons he is able to relate to them and gain their trust so well makes for the most satisfying TV drama. His relationships with Bill and Wendy are complex and emotionally compelling, and we just can’t help wanting to tie up those loose ends and uncracked cases.
Originally, media coverage cited Fincher’s desire to focus on other projects as the reason behind a delayed continuation, but he eventually revealed that high budgets and risks with storytelling ultimately led to its cancellation. While Fincher went on to work on other projects with the streamer, Mindhunter‘s loyal fan base would still be thrilled to see a Netflix series revival. After all, cold cases never get solved until someone decides to crack them back open.