Netflix's 97% RT Detective Thriller Is A Rare 10/10 Show

Netflix's Mindhunter was an unusual crime show that took risks by focusing on a side of criminal psychology that had rarely been explored before. Crime is a popular genre, but even the best detective TV shows tend to feature explosive "killer of the week" storylines, which can make them predictable despite their tension and violence. Instead, Mindhunter gave viewers a relentless sense of creeping dread.

Mindhunter's main characters, Holden and Bill, are based on real people, and just like many of TV's most iconic detective duos, they barely tolerate each other. This could have taken away much of the show's chemistry and suspense, but director David Fincher pits them against real-life monsters and the establishment, making their complicated relationship fascinating to watch as the show progresses.

Mindhunter Is A Perfect Show From Start To Finish

Mindhunter is not all gloom and 70s aesthetic, and it starts just as explosively as many great crime TV shows. Mindhunter hooks you within the first ten minutes by showing how little the characters know about criminal psychology during a hostage situation. This scene establishes the extreme stress that Holden's job causes, which becomes relevant later, with later story threads leading back to this scene.

The show never feels rushed and steadily introduces new mysteries, allowing viewers to get invested. Every episode of Mindhunter is a perfect character study, featuring some of the best performances in a crime TV show. It is extremely disturbing, yet there is very little violence shown onscreen, which is unusual for the crime genre and a testament to the actors' performances and David Fincher's direction.

How Mindhunter Compares To Fincher's Other Netflix Projects

David Fincher has found great success on Netflix with other game-changing shows. Unfortunately, while House of Cards began as a cinematic and suspense-filled masterpiece, it has been overshadowed by the allegations against Kevin Spacey and an underwhelming ending. While Love, Death + Robots, which Fincher produced, has sometimes felt inconsistent, his animation debut, Bad Traveling, is one of the show's best and most horrifying.

His movies, Mank, and The Killer, have been rated 83% and 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, and both showcase his dark aesthetic and attention to the characters' psyches. Mindhunter fits in perfectly with Fincher's other Netflix projects, and its 97% Rotten Tomatoes score makes it one of his best works. Its cancellation is even sadder as it never had the chance to reach its full potential.

Netflix Will Never Have Another Show Like Mindhunter

Mindhunter is one of the most egregious Netflix cancellations of all time, and the show still has a passionate fanbase. Despite its "slow-burn" success and potential for many more seasons, Netflix cancelled Mindhunter after two seasons for budgetary reasons. The visual effects and costuming that gave the show its 1970s look were expensive, and Fincher would not compromise his vision.

Netflix invests money into finding new stories, but executives appear reluctant to give Mindhunter more of a chance over time by allowing Fincher a greater budget. The platform's current focus on shorter crime TV shows with mass appeal and plot twists with every episode may be successful in the short term, but this strategy means that Netflix will never replace Mindhunter.