Although Mindhunter’s two seasons are some of the best crime drama Netflix has ever produced, the untimely cancellation of the series remains a dark mark on the history of the streaming service. Netflix is notorious for canceling programs before they can fulfill their full potential, even within the axe-happy world of streaming services.
As Netflix searches for the perfect Stranger Things replacement, it is hard not to think of 2020’s one-season wonder, I Am Not Okay With This. Another small-town blend of character drama, sci-fi, and mystery, this graphic novel adaptation might have had the chance to mature into a franchise-spawning hit like Stranger Things if it hadn’t been canceled so soon.
Mindhunter’s Season 2 Cancelation Highlighted Netflix’s Biggest Shortcoming
However, when it comes Netflix’s misguided cancellations, there are few cases quite as infamous as the deservedly acclaimed crime drama Mindhunter. Starring Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany as a pair of FBI agents tasked with profiling some of America’s worst serial killers, Mindhunter’s true crime story portrayed the early years of the FBI’s criminal psychology investigation unit.
Movies like The Silence of the Lambs and shows like Criminal Minds and Hannibal may have already introduced viewers to the concept of a criminal profiler, but Mindhunter took things a step further. Based on the non-fiction book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, the show followed its protagonists as they outline the ideas behind profiling as a practice.
A blend of true crime drama and psychological thriller, Mindhunter was executive produced by Zodiac director David Fincher. While one of Netflix’s other best psychological thrillers, You, was a more fun, propulsive affair, Mindhunter took the task of its main characters seriously, and the show had a moody, contemplative atmosphere that often bordered on bleak.
Netflix’s Crime Thrillers Still Haven’t Matched Mindhunter
Eschewing the supernatural-tinged creepiness of Longlegs or Fincher’s own earlier masterpiece Se7en, Mindhunter maintained its sense of grounded realism even when the protagonists interviewed some of the 20th century’s most infamous killers. The result was a show that quietly questioned many of the ideas that underpin the entire true crime genre, probing questions of how monsters are made.
As such, it was a shocking surprise when Netflix opted not to renew Minhunter for a third season. According to Fincher, the executive producer was told that the series needed to either become more mainstream and accessible in its storytelling or drastically reduce its budget if the creators wanted to secure a third outing.
Understandably, Fincher felt that taking either of these unappealing routes would run the risk of ruining a masterpiece. Mindhunter’s first season worked as a standalone story and, although its second outing fleshed out both the world of the series and its main characters, the show was better off quitting while it was ahead than offering viewers a watered-down, simplified, more inexpensive, or otherwise compromised third season.
However, Netflix should not be let off the hook easily for this decision. The streaming giant’s choice to end Mindhunter instead of continuing to invest in a crime drama of uncommon depth and intelligence contributed to a cultural climate where only shows appealing to the lowest common denominator can hope to secure a renewal.
- Release Date
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2017 – 2019
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Joe Penhall
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Holt McCallany
Bill Tench
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Munro M. Bonnell
CMF Doctor
