As you’d no doubt have expected from a show driven by one of the most acclaimed and talented filmmakers in the business, Mindhunter is widely regarded as one of Netflix’s best ever originals. The psychological crime thriller focuses on a groundbreaking team of FBI profilers who question numerous serial killers in an effort to try and discover what makes them tick.
The first season debuted to wildly enthusiastic reviews in October 2017, with Fincher himself directing the first and last two episodes, and Mindhunter‘s impeccable performances, atmosphere and constant sense of lurching dread marked it out as one of the finest new shows of the year. Two years later, the second batch of episodes arrived and proved to be just as brilliant, and the series had the undoubted potential to go down as an all-time great.
However, the streaming service never released any viewership data for Mindhunter, raising questions about whether or not it found the size of audience that was expected of such a high-profile project. In January of this year, it was announced that the show was on an indefinite hold as Fincher put the finishing touches to his Netflix movie Mank, and in a recent interview, the Seven and Gone Girl director made it sound as though his small screen pet project might not be coming back at all.
“Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show. We talked about, ‘Finish Mank and then see how you feel’, but I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to do it for less than I did Season 2. And on some level, you have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs.”
Fincher originally planned to have Mindhunter run for five seasons, but given the sheer volume of shows Netflix have canceled already over the last few months and the fact that it was already placed on the back burner, the chances of it being given the official green light for season 3 are growing slimmer by the day.
