Mindhunter is arguably one of Netflix’s best-ever original series and one that fans continue to ask to return. Flooding the Internet, in fact, are fan-made posters for a third season that sadly isn’t in the works. What has struck fans about Mindhunter is the fascinating story based on the real-life team that coined the term “serial killer.” Yes, it’s interesting to recall that there was once a time when repeat, ritualistic killers didn’t have an all-encompassing descriptive term to categorize them.
But what really sets Mindhunter apart is that the show features the lead characters, Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), interviewing actors playing real-life serial killers from history, like Edmund Kemper, Dennis Rader (BTK Killer), David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), and Charles Manson. These actors not only nail their roles, but the dialogue is pulled from real transcripts, making the conversations even more chilling. For those who miss Mindhunter (and keep getting disappointed after reading Mindhunter Season 3 rumors), there are compelling shows to watch of a similar vein, some docuseries about real killers and some depicting fictional ones.
Though short-lived, Prodigal Son offered an interesting look not only into the mind of a serial killer, but also that of his now-grown child dealing with the trauma of his father’s devious deeds. Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) has been dealing with the aftermath of his wealthy surgeon father Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen) being revealed as a serial killer. It has haunted him so much that now as an adult, he has debilitating nightmares, has blocked out memories, and dedicated his life to studying serial killers as an FBI profiler. He has an incredible knack for reading people and crime scenes, but he can’t quite escape his father’s mental hold on him.
Prodigal Son was arguably one of the most underrated procedural dramas that ended too soon. Some of the most compelling scenes were between Bright and Whitly in Whitly’s segregated room in the mental institution where he was being held to live out his days. Sheen shines (pun intended) as a narcissistic serial killer who truly felt that his kills were canceled out by the many lives he saved as a revered surgeon.
The Following may very well be one of the most underrated crime thrillers based on a serial killer that most people haven’t watched yet. Starring Kevin Bacon, it’s James Purefoy who really captivates in the most disturbing way as charming serial killer Joe Carroll. A highly intelligent former professor, Carroll uses his intellect and captivating personality to assemble a cult of followers while in prison, all led by Valorie Curry (The Boys). Once he escapes from prison, he uses his time to torment and taunt former FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Bacon), the man who helped capture him in the first place, and who has, in a twisted love triangle, had a romantic relationship with Carroll’s ex-wife Claire (Natalie Zea).
The Following had a wonderful cast that also includes Shawn Ashmore, Annie Parisse, Sam Underwood, Michael Ealy, and the late Adan Canto. Seeing how Carroll, in a way, manipulates vulnerable people to do his bidding, is unbelievable. Yet it’s also indicative of real-life situations, killers, and cults, as evidenced by shows like Mindhunter.
The Following
Release Date January 21, 2013
Seasons 3
8 'The Fall' (2013-2016)
Created by Allan Cubitt
Image via BBC
Set in Northern Ireland, The Fall centers around Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) and her hunt for a serial killer who continues to attack young, professional women in Belfast. The identity of the killer as Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan), a young family man who ironically works as a grief counselor, is revealed off the bat. The show is all about the cat-and-mouse game as Gibson tries to follow her hunch while Spector does his best to evade capture.
Interestingly, creator Allan Cubitt says he was inspired to write The Fall after reading a book about BTK killer Dennis Rader that began with his testimony in court once captured. Thus, as Mindhunter focuses on getting into the minds of killers, The Fall does this in another unique way. It shows Spector and allows fans to learn more about his perversions and motivations while simultaneously hiding in plain sight.
The Fall
Release Date May 13, 2013
Creator Allan Cubitt
7 'Criminal Minds' (2005-)
Created by Jeff Davis
Image via CBS
A police procedural, Criminal Minds focuses on the psychological aspect of killers just like Mindhunter. The criminal profilers who work with the FBI are front and center of this show, members of a similar Behavioral Analysis Unit that is featured in Mindhunter. While Criminal Minds also focuses on the personal lives of the ensemble cast and it isn’t quite as dark as Mindhunter, the dialogue, methods, and focus on the psychological aspect of violent crimes are similar.
Renewed as Criminal Minds: Evolution for Paramount+, and inspiring a companion true crime series called The Real Criminal Minds, the series continues to be a hit among fans of the genre as one of the best crime shows of the 21st century.
6 'Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes' (2019)
Created by Joe Berlinger
A documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes dives right into the mind of a real-life serial killer, one of the most infamous of all time. What sets this one apart from the many other documentaries, docuseries, TV shows, and movie adaptations about Ted Bundy’s life is the inclusion of never-before-seen interviews and archival footage.
Much of the content in this disturbing true crime documentary is provided by Stephen Michaud, who conducted a 1980 death row interview with the killer. Hearing Bundy discuss his life as though he’s an expert discussing himself in the third person is chilling. He speaks so matter-of-factly about the torture, murder, and maiming of so many women. Fans wish they could have seen a dramatization of this in Mindhunter.
5 'Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer' (2024)
Directed by Abby Fuller
Ann Burgess spent time working with the FBI developing different ways to track violent crimes, including those committed by serial killers. It’s Burgess, in fact, who the character Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) on Mindhunter is modeled after. She went on to write a novel about her research on the behaviors of killers and this docuseries explores her career and learnings.
Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer is like getting a deeper inside look at the moments and conversations dramatized in Mindhunter. Along with learning more about Burgess and her investigations into some of the most well-known serial killers and their victims, this docuseries also touches on lesser-known cases in history that Burgess worked on. With Burgess serving as a consulting producer, fans can expect a level of authenticity with this show that adds a new perspective on Mindhunter, arguably taking that show to another level.
A show that stands out from the others with a completely different look, feel, and tone, True Detective offers intriguing stories about a different serial killer in each season of the anthology crime drama. Highlighting police, victims, and surviving friends and family, each season has its own unique twist. There’s everything from ties to the occult to supernatural events and stories that flip timelines in all the best seasons of True Detective.
With a fabulous cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Mahershala Ali, Stephen Dorff, and most recently Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, the settings, stories, and structure changes each time in True Detective such that it’s almost like watching a different show from one season to the next.
A true crime miniseries, Taron Egerton’s first major TV role was a downright hit. He plays James “Jimmy” Keene, a young man who went from football scholarship to criminal. When he is captured for his misdeeds, he is given a massive opportunity: if he can use his signature charms to ingratiate himself to a serial killer in the same prison and get him to confess, they will fully commute his sentence. So begins Keene’s attempt to befriend Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), a convicted serial killer and rapist. At first, Keene thinks the job will be simple. But as he finally gets Hall to open up, he is horrified by the unsettling things he hears.
What’s most fascinating about Black Bird is that it’s based on the true story of the real-life Keene, who received a similar deal to help law enforcement take down a disturbed killer. The series offers a different way to understand the mind of a killer, particularly one who seems like the last person someone might suspect of doing such heinous things. The show was an Emmy nominee and winner. The cast also includes Greg Kinnear and the late Ray Liotta in his last on-screen role.
Black Bird
Release Date July 8, 2022
Seasons 1
2 'Dexter' (2006-2013)
Created by James Manos Jr.
Image via Showtime
Fans get to literally hear inside the mind of a serial killer with Dexter, which features serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) and his internal monologue narrating every scene. Trained as a teenager to control his dark urges to kill by his father, Morgan now uses his job as a blood spatter analyst for the local police to suss out killers. Once he discovers their identity and can confirm their guilt, he begins his ritualistic process to confront, kill, maim, and dispose of them. He’s a vigilante killer who has managed to use his intense urges for what he believes is good.
All eight seasons of Dexterinterestingly have fans siding with and actually liking a serial killer. But what’s most like Mindhunter is the way fans get to hear Morgan not only rationalizing his decisions but also trying to fake his way through everyday life. He does his best to copy other people’s behaviors to go undetected as a psychopath who lacks empathy. From bringing donuts to everyone at the office to dolling out compliments and even joining a bowling league, it’s all fake. Morgan does his best to impersonate a “real” human, much like many of the serial killers on Mindhunter tried to do in their lives.
Dexter
Release Date October 1, 2006
Seasons 8
1 'Hannibal' (2013-2015)
Created by Bryan Fuller
Image via NBC
The entire concept of Hannibal is downright fascinating. Based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ novels, which also inspired movies like The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal centers around the relationship between serial killer and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and one of his clients, FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). While Graham visits Lecter for help in dealing with his investigations of a serial killer, he has no idea he’s talking to one right in front of him. Lecter loves toying with Graham, but oddly, the two begin to develop a friendship as Lecter becomes intrigued by Graham’s odd ability to empathize with serial killers. Graham all the while has no idea who Lecter really is.
Hannibal is one of those shows that fans felt was canceled too soon. Like Mindhunter, it takes place within the Behavioral Sciences unit of the FBI and offers an in-depth look into the mind of a serial killer, interestingly with the serial killer himself diving into the mind of the man hunting him.
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