Is There Any Chance for Mindhunter to Continue Someday? David Fincher Weighs In
Fincher seems to have decided to focus on feature films.
In 2017, the first season of Mindhunter emerged as one of the biggest hits of the year: the series chronicled the pioneers of criminal profiling in the United States. The de facto showrunner was none other than the titan of the thriller genre, David Fincher.
However, the series was never resurrected after an indefinite hiatus, and it seems that Fincher himself has abandoned hope of returning to the project.
Cliffhanger Ending
Season 2 concluded with the apprehension of the Atlanta Monster, Wayne Williams, with the child murder investigation culminating in a disappointing cold case (as it did in reality), and at the same time, the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, whose case was intended to be the focus of Season 3, remained at large.
Hope Springs Eternal
Between 2019 and 2020, the director and executive producer concentrated on the feature film Mank, and the entire cast was released from their contracts.
In November 2020, Fincher discussed the show's cancellation with Variety. Apart from other projects and Mindhunter fatigue, he mentioned Netflix's view that the show's expenses exceeded its ratings. Nevertheless, he was open to revisiting the project someday.
'At some point, I'd love to revisit it. The hope was to get all the way up to the late 90s, early 2000s, hopefully, get all the way up to people knocking on the door at Dennis Rader's house.'
Moving On
Yet three years have passed, and the cinematic legend who gifted us Fight Club and Zodiac doesn't seem to have found the will to resume work on the project.
'It's a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn't attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment [for season three],' he told Le Journal du Dimanche per Forbes. 'They took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it, and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer [the upcoming feature film]. It's a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.'
In 2020, a Netflix representative commented on the show's renewal, saying, 'Maybe in five years.' We still have just over a year left — who knows, perhaps Fincher and Netflix will reconsider!