Two FBI agents interview serial killers in the 1970s to understand them. Why Mindhunter is worth watching despite its open ending, and what to know first.
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Mindhunter has a reputation that makes many people hesitate before starting: there are only two seasons, and a third is not coming. Is it worth starting then? Our answer is yes. Here is why, and what you are signing up for.
The late 1970s. Young FBI agent Holden Ford and his experienced colleague Bill Tench travel across the US teaching courses for police officers. On the side, they begin interviewing convicted murderers in prison. They want to understand how these people think, so that future offenders can be recognised earlier. Together with psychologist Wendy Carr, they lay the foundations of what is now called profiling.
The series is based on the book by former FBI agent John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Many of the prisoners who are interviewed really existed.
The heart of the series is the prison interviews. Two men in suits sit at a table across from a murderer and talk, sometimes for half an episode. That sounds like little, but it is often more gripping than any chase. Cameron Britton as Edmund Kemper in particular unsettled many viewers, precisely because he is so calm and polite.
Mindhunter is a crime series that gets by almost without showing violence. You learn what happened from descriptions, files and photos. That does not make the series more harmless, but more haunting. If you expect gore, this is the wrong place. If you like psychology, it is the right one.
Fincher, known for films such as Se7en and Fight Club, co-produced the series and directed several episodes. You can see it in the cool colours, the precise images and the slow, controlled pace. Every shot feels planned.
Mindhunter ran in 2017 and 2019 with 19 episodes in total. After that the series was put on hold, and David Fincher has since said there will be no third season. Some storylines therefore remain open.
Even so, the series does not feel unfinished. Each season has its own arc with its own climax, and the characters develop noticeably across both seasons. You get two complete chapters of a story that would have liked to be longer. That is more than many finished series offer.
It is less suited to you if the subject of violence weighs on you heavily. Even without images, some descriptions are hard to bear.
If you like Mindhunter, you will find more ideas under series like Mindhunter and in our list of shows like Breaking Bad.
According to David Fincher, no. The series ended after two seasons.
19 episodes across two seasons, released in 2017 and 2019.
Yes. The series is based on the book by former FBI agent John Douglas, and many of the interviewed offenders really existed.
Mindhunter is a Netflix production. The shows where it is streaming in your country right now.