After we could hope for a sequel to “Mindhunter” for a long time, it is now unfortunately clear – there will be no 3rd season. This continues a sad trend at Netflix.
After the 2nd season of the series “Mindhunter” was released in 2019, things became suspiciously quiet about the project. Many simply blamed it on the corona pandemic. More pessimistic voices, on the other hand, suspected early on that streaming giant Netflix could discontinue the series. Unfortunately, this assumption has now become a sad certainty. Director David Fincher confirmed to French magazine Le Journal du Dimanche that there will be no season 3 of Mindhunter on Netflix.
No 3rd season for “Mindhunter”
Fincher spoke to the magazine during the presentation of the César Awards, France’s most important film prize. The “Fight Club” and “Gone Girl” director will receive an honorary award there this year. He names the reason for the cancellation of “Mindhunter” quite clearly: The series is simply too expensive. He does not blame the streaming service in this regard.
I’m very proud of the first two seasons, but it’s a particularly expensive series and in Netflix’s eyes, we haven’t attracted a large enough audience to justify such an investment (…). I don’t blame them, they took risks to start the series in the first place (…). It’s fantastic to work with people who are capable of bold actions. When our intentions are no longer aligned, we need to be honest about it and go our separate ways.
David Fincher, Le Journal du Dimanche
There is no official statement from Netflix on this, which would be rather unusual. And even if serial killer stuff is booming – think of “Dahmer” or “You” for example – the cancellation does not come as a complete surprise. Netflix has a pretty strict procedure in this regard. Roughly speaking, the productions naturally have to recoup their costs, which is why Netflix uses several parameters to measure the success of its content. How much is streamed? Do the subscribers watch the series until the end? And how many new subscribers are coming to Netflix for that one show or movie?
Can the series still be saved?
Fans of the “Mindhunter” series are sad and disappointed, as is much of the trade press. Originally, five seasons were actually planned. The recently released second season also ends with a nerve-wracking cliffhanger that will probably never be resolved. In fact, “Mindhunter” is not an isolated case with its cancellation. In the past few months in particular, Netflix has ended several prestige projects early, including the German production “1899” and the world record series “Goosebumps at Midnight”. With the cancellation of “Mindhunter” the unsightly trend continues.
However, the first voices are already demanding that the series be “saved” by another streaming service. The name HBO is mentioned particularly frequently. The US broadcaster is known for its multi-award-winning, high-quality content – above all “Game of Thrones”, but currently also “The Last of Us”, “House of the Dragon” and “Euphoria”.
Unfortunately, to be honest, a scenario in which HBO takes over “Mindhunter” isn’t particularly likely. But maybe, given the quality of the series, there will be another streaming service that will produce another season. A lot of the cast and crew have said in the past that they would be up for a sequel.
Also interesting: These films and series will soon disappear from Netflix
This is what the Netflix series Mindhunter is about
The series shows the beginnings of the FBI’s investigative method, often referred to as profiling, in the 1970s. Especially at the beginning, the idea of the somewhat eccentric Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) is smiled at. The young FBI agent wants to create so-called perpetrator profiles based on personal conversations with serial killers. He is joined by experienced investigator Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). In the second season, the findings obtained from the so-called Behavioral Science Unit are increasingly being put to practical use.
In fact, there were already concrete ideas as to how “Mindhunter” season 3 could continue. It was probably planned for the investigative team to share its findings with a film crew in Hollywood. In addition, several well-known serial killers were already part of the storyline, including Charles Manson (played by Damon Herriman) and Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton). The conversations with the inmates would probably have continued to be an important part of the series.
Sources
- Le Journal du Dimanche (“David Fincher au JDD : « En France, vous aimez vraiment le cinéma »” accessed 22 February 2023)
- games radar (“Mindhunter season 3 is a no go at Netflix, says David Fincher,” accessed February 22, 2023)
- colliders (“Exclusive: ‘Mindhunter’ Season 3 Would Have Sent the FBI to Hollywood, Says Andrew Dominik,” accessed February 22, 2023)