Netflix’s Mindhunter is one of those rare TV shows that is perfect from start to finish. The series, which is based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s memoir, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, arguably revolutionized crime dramas with a story about how the FBI came to develop criminal profiling.
Although Mindhunter only ran for two seasons, the series got high praise from everyone who watched it. Currently, Mindhunter has 97% and 95% Rotten Tomatoes scores from critics and audiences, respectively. The disturbing Netflix serial killer show definitely deserves more recognition than it already gets.
Mindhunter Is A 2-Season Masterpiece That Ended Way Too Soon
Mindhunter Season 3 Never Happened
Mindhunter season 1 was an incredible TV show, and season 2 was even better. The first season saw FBI agents Tench and Ford delving into criminal profiling by attempting to understand the notorious serial killer Ed Kemper’s motivation, while the second installment delved more into the personal lives of the FBI agents.
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Mindhunter’s Canceled Story Plan Reveals The Perfect Way To Bring It Back (& It’s Not With Season 3)
Before Mindhunter was canceled, season 3 was originally going to be set in a completely different location. This could be the key to bringing it back.
Unfortunately, Mindhunter was canceled due to budget reasons. With Ford and Tench’s work finally getting attention, season 3 would have seen them get out of the basement and bring their research to the world. Given how great Mindhunter is, the fact that it didn’t continue is incredibly frustrating.
It’s been nearly six years since Mindhunter season 2 aired, and the cast has gone on to work on other projects, so a third installment of the series is highly unlikely. However, there is one way the crime drama can continue, and that is through a movie that can explore Ford and Tench’s research in a new setting.
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Mindhunter’s 3-Movie Future Plan Gets An Honest Update From Executive Producer Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron, the Oscar-winning actress who was also an executive producer on Netflix’s acclaimed series Mindhunter, speaks on the show’s future.
It seems like David Fincher is open to the idea of revisiting Mindhunter through movies, but there is nothing official. Either way, Netflix’s cancellation of Mindhunter still hurts.
Don’t Expect Mindhunter To Be Like Other Crime TV Shows
Mindhunter Places Huge Emphasis On The Psyche Of Its Characters
Although Mindhunter is a crime drama, it’s not an ordinary addition to the genre. The nature of the show itself is that it doesn’t focus on solving a new crime in each episode. Instead, it uses a different formula by having Ford and Tench try to understand the psychology behind why serial killers commit such heinous crimes to predict and prevent future incidents.
Speaking to Première Magazine (via The Fincher Analyst) about the cancellation of Netflix, David Fincher stated: “We went as far as we could until someone finally said to us, ‘It makes no sense to produce this series like this, unless you can reduce the budget or make it more pop… We did not want to change our approach, so, respectfully, they told us that they were drawing a line under it.”
Mindhunter, more than anything, is a character study. It is also a slow burn that takes its time fleshing out its characters and doesn’t use the whodunnit formula. The fact that Mindhunter doesn’t have big mysteries or flashy action scenes may explain why the show is often overlooked and remains an underrated thriller even to this day.
Source: Première Magazine (via The Fincher Analyst)
