Netflix’s 2-Part American Crime Series Is the Greatest of All Time

There hasn’t been a filmmaker more dedicated to the study of criminal behavior than David Fincher, whose films Se7en, Zodiac, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl offered unique and terrifying portrayals of killers that were both real and fictitious. Although Fincher continued to be one of the most successful directors of his generation in the 21st century, he also became an important figure during Netflix's early years, due to his role as a producer and director on House of Cards, the first blockbuster show that the streamer ever released. Four years later, Fincher created Mindhunter, a psychological thriller loosely based on FBI profiler John Douglas' memoir.

While its story is original, Mindhunter drew many direct parallels to Douglas’ life, and incorporated real serial killers within its cast of original characters. The series focuses on the brilliant FBI Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), who decides to begin developing an investigative study into criminal psychology after a traumatic incident pulls him out of active duty. While Ford forms a partnership with fellow FBI Agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and psychology professor Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), he also begins to sympathize with his subjects, making it more challenging for his studies to become entirely objective. Mindhunter had two seasons, each of them brilliant, and its lack of renewal has hung over Fincher's career ever since the show’s last episodes aired in the summer of 2019. While it seems unlikely that it will ever return, the two seasons that exist of Mindhunter are as good as crime dramas can get.

‘Mindhunter’ Examined the Origin of Criminal Profiling

Mindhunter is unlike any other contemporary television drama because the series combines the best aspects of serialized and procedural storytelling. To justify their studies into serial killers like Elmer Wayne Henley (Robert Aramayo) and Charles Manson (Damon Herriman), Tench and Ford are also assigned to assist local authorities by providing them with details about their research, which in turn drives them to become involved in smaller cases. Although the various mysteries that Ford and Tench are tasked with investigating vary in terms of their severity, the tension that emerges draws out the stark differences in their approaches. Ford is still a family man who can’t get over his belief that these criminals are inherently evil, and Ford views every interrogation as a game in which he expects to win. It was a terrific showcase for two actors to have the roles of their respective careers, as Groff had previously been best known for his work on stage, and McCallany had been a background player in several previous Fincher projects.

The wedge between the characters grows more immense when Mindhunter explores the political pressures put on the FBI during a time when the media was sensationalizing serial killers, especially as films began to depict their stories. Tench is faced with an ethical dilemma when his adopted son Brian (Zachary Scott Ross) is found to be involved in a crime with his classmates, forcing him to reconsider the pre-existing beliefs that he’s held about nature and nurture. Similarly, Ford experiences a dramatic breakdown after realizing that the ruthless serial killer Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) has come to view him as a friend. Despite the frequently disturbing material, Mindhunter is filled with the sort of dark humor that only Fincher would be capable of. The series succeeds in no small part due to its soundtrack, which includes everything from the Talking Heads to David Bowie.

‘Mindhunter’ Is a Masterpiece, So Why Hasn’t It Returned?

Fincher deserves credit for creating a format and tone for which the series could succeed, but there were several other directors instrumental in the success of Mindhunter. Andrew Dominik was responsible for the brilliant standoff between Ford and Manson in the second season, which saw the FBI flummoxed by a serial killer who had completely bought into his own cult mentality. Similarly, a significant portion of the second season was focused on the Atlanta child murders and was helmed by Carl Franklin, an underrated director known for his many collaborations with Denzel Washington. Franklin showed how Ford and Tench, as outsiders in the community, were harmful in their investigations because of the preconceived biases that they introduced, preventing them from delivering justice in a situation that they didn’t understand. The reckoning that Ford faces when he confronts his own white guilt is one of the most stunning sequences in the show’s history, making it all the more disappointing that it didn’t return in some capacity.

Although there have been reports about what a potential third season may have looked like, Mindhunter doesn’t appear to be returning due to Fincher’s demands, which involve a budget that Netflix wasn’t willing to agree to. It’s understandable why the streaming service may have been hesitant about greenlighting another season of a series that only had a niche audience, but it’s also a bit unfair that they haven’t been willing to throw Fincher a bone. Fincher’s contributions to Netflix’s library, including producing their first blockbuster with House of Cards, earning ten Academy Award nominations for Mank, delivering another low-key hit with The Killer, and developing anticipated upcoming projects like Squid Game America and The Adventures of Cliff Booth, should allot him the opportunity to wrap up one of the greatest crime thrillers in the history of television.