Mindhunter creator's major stumbling block to making season three happen
It's been almost a year since Mindhunter was officially axed by Netflix, but fans are still pining for it to make a return.
Somehow, someway, they want the TV show to make a comeback despite its funding being pulled out from underneath it.
Mindhunter ran for two seasons between 2017 and 2019, boasting a 97 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The general public love it too, ranking it at 95 percent. Safe to say it's good, then.
A lot of the show is based on real life events, loosely following the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker.
Douglas, a former FBI special agent, worked for the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). He also interviewed notorious mass murderers and helped coin what we now label as serial killers.
The creation of the BSU and Douglas' iconic interviews with the likes of Charles Manson and Edmund Kemper form captivating segments in the show through one of its main characters, Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff).
Rotten Tomatoes said the show 'distinguishes itself in a crowded genre' of true crime.
That's probably why fans are so passionate in begging for its return despite officially being thrown to the wayside by streaming giant Netflix.
The problem, show-runner David Fincher says, comes down to basic numbers.
Netflix invested a lot of money into the show; something I think fans would agree pays off when it comes to the final product.
It looks slick, the cast's talent runs deep, and those behind the camera are among the best money can buy.
On the flip side, Netflix wants a return and sadly for Mindhunter, that didn't happen after its second outing when compared to the cost.
For Fincher, he doubts a third season could be done for less money. This is the man behind Fight Club and House of Cards, so you'd think his opinion carries weight on these things.
Fincher told Empire in 2020: "Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show.
"We talked about 'Finish [Fincher's Netlix film] Mank and then see how you feel,' but I honestly don't think we're going to be able to do it for less than I did season two.
"And on some level, you have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs."
If a third season would need at least the same budget, it's hard to see Netflix ever returning to the project as long as its targets remain similar.
One possibility is another streaming provider coming in and taking over the rights.
Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ have spent hundreds of millions on projects in recent years, whether that's Rings of Power or Disney's countless Marvel television series, from WandaVision right up to Loki and She-Hulk.
These are statement shows as much as looking for an end product. Showing they are committed to taking on quality productions shelved by longer-term streaming services would be a bold, but well received move with audiences and those within the industry.
Importantly hope remains, with Holt McCallany, who played FBI Agent Bill Tench, saying this week that Fincher had thought about bringing the show back. We live in hope.
Topics: Netflix, Mindhunter, Crime, US News, TV and Film
Tom Earnshaw