Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services when it comes to impactful original programming, meaning that tons of their TV shows and movies have gone from original ideas to some of the most well-known franchises of the modern era. Netflix produced shows like Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and more, quickly earned them a reputation as a mainline home for prestige TV.
However, several missteps led to this reputation falling apart, with one of the biggest factors being Netflix’s frequent cancelling of popular shows. Tons of Netflix series ended after one or two seasons, leaving stories on major cliffhangers. While fans all have different shows that burned them, one of the most tragic cliffhangers that arose from a Netflix show ending too early happened over seven years ago now. However, this one wasn’t even cancelled by Netflix.
When Netflix announced that it would be releasing a series with acclaimed filmmaker David Fincher as its showrunner, all eyes were on the streaming service. Although the series was created by Joe Penhall, when 2017’s Mindhunter was released, it was clear that David Fincher was the de facto showrunner, with him having a heavy involvement in the writing process and directing a huge chunk of the episodes. The series follows two FBI agents as they found the Behavioral Science Unit and profile the first batch of serial killers throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and after only one season, everyone knew that Mindhunter was an all-time great.
The show was met with rave reviews upon its release, and a second season was dropped less than two years later in 2019. Where the first season focused on a variety of serial killers, the second season was more focused on the Atlanta murders of 1979-1981, although other killers did appear throughout the season. Going into the finale, the show was still going strong, and fans were excited for a third season. Multiple scenes throughout the first two seasons had set up the BTK Strangler as a major antagonist, and fans were crossing their fingers that these teases would finally pay off in season 3.
However, this never happened. In Novermber 2019, it was announced that Mindhunter season 3 would be put on hold so that Fincher could direct Mank, a Netflix Original film that eventually released in 2020. However, Fincher still had plans for Mindhunter to have five total seasons. However, things looked grim in January 2020, when the Mindhunter cast was released from their contracts so that Fincher could work on other projects. Then, in October 2020, Fincher announced that the series was finished for now, although it could be continued in the future.
We are now seven years down the line from Mindhunter season 2, and the show still hasn’t come back. Fincher has gone on to make other projects, and the Mindhunter cast has gone their separate ways, leaving fans of the show out to dry and forced to find alternatives to fill their serial killer show void.
Many fans of Mindhunter have already come to terms with the fact that the series is done for good, and it’s best not to get your hopes up for Mindhunter to ever make its return. After all, its been six years since Fincher said that the show could return “in five years,” and the director still seems to have a full plate. However, there is one small glimmer of hope.
In 2025, actor Holt McCallany revealed that he had met with David Fincher and discussed the potential future of Mindhunter. According to McCallany, Fincher said that there is a chance that Mindhunter could come back, although not as a TV show; instead, it could return as three two-hour movies (though he would have to be happy with the scripts before definitively saying yes). Nothing else has been said about the Mindhunter movies since McCallany’s comments, so fans shouldn’t get too excited – but, to the contrary, the filmmakers haven’t said those movies are off the table either.
