Netflix has more crime and true crime shows than you could watch in a lifetime, but there’s one series with near-perfect reviews that you simply have to check out. The masterful detective story “Mindhunter” is one of the best shows on Netflix in any genre.
“Mindhunter” is the brainchild of David Fincher, who’s no stranger to telling gritty, gripping detective stories. But while Fincher’s movie “Se7en” is one of the best crime movies of all time, in “Mindhunter” he tells a story very much based in reality. The show, which began its two-season run in 2017, explores the early days of the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI. The heroes are a trio of agents — Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), and Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) — who travel the country interviewing serial killers as research for their project of developing the science of psychological profiling.
With “Mindhunter,” Fincher set out to create a show that combined elements of “The X-Files,” “CSI,” and “Criminal Minds” with real-life events and people, all while carving out a distinct identity that is all its own. The show is thrilling, emotional, and unnerving all at once, and fans rank it among the best shows Netflix cancelled. There might not be enough “Mindhunter” to fully sate the show’s fans, but everyone should give the series a watch — especially because Fincher hasn’t ruled out a revival.
What really happend to Mindhunter?
Thanks to its top-notch writing, incredible performances, and stunning production quality, “Mindhunter” quickly gained a reputation as one of the best shows on Netflix. Because of that, many fans were floored when the streamer cancelled “Mindhunter” before Season 3Â could be made. Those who had been closely following the behind-the-scenes details about David Fincher’s historical crime drama, however, were a little less surprised.
Fincher is best known for his movies, but he partnered with Netflix to produce the platform’s hit show “House of Cards” in 2013. After that, he began working on “Mindhunter” but still had plans for more movies. When work on “Mindhunter” Season 2 wrapped, Fincher immediately jumped into creating the film “Mank” for Netflix, which ended up being the project he was working on when Netflix announced that “Mindhunter” would be put on hiatus.
At the time, Fincher openly talked about how time-consuming and exhausting making “Mindhunter” had been. He said that he worked 90 hours a week producing the show, and he mentioned that it was an extremely expensive show, likely because Fincher used a ton of VFX to ensure everything in the show looked period-accurate. Once he finished “Mank,” Fincher began working on “The Killer,” another Netflix film, and “Mindhunter” has been on hold ever since.
Will Mindhunter Season 3 ever happen?
The original plan for “Mindhunter” Season 3 was to send the main cast out to Hollywood and would have examined how famous killers have been incorporated into pop culture. Of course, since the end of the first season, “Mindhunter” had been hinting at the eventual appearance of the BTK killer, so fans had a sense of just how far out David Fincher had planned the “Mindhunter” timeline.
We know that at one point Fincher figured the series could run for five seasons, but by now, it seems clear that’s never going to happen. Since Netflix put “Mindhunter” on the back burner, Fincher has said that the show is likely just too expensive to come back for another season. That’s been a bitter pill for fans to swallow, but in 2025, a former “Mindhunter” star gave fans something new to hope for.
“I had a meeting with David Fincher in his office a few months ago,” Holt McCallany told CBR in June 2025. “He said to me that there is a chance that [Mindhunter] may come back as three two-hour movies, but I think it’s just a chance.” McCallany also said that people were working on scripts for the potential movie, which means, at that point, “Mindhunter” was closer than ever to making a comeback. Of course, there’s a big difference between writing scripts and reuniting the original show’s actors on a movie set, but at this point, “Mindhunter” fans will take any shred of hope they can get.
