Summary
- David Fincher reveals that Mindhunter season 3's cancellation was due to the show's high budget.
- Netflix proposed either reducing the budget or broadening the show's audience appeal, but Fincher and the creative team ultimately declined.
- Mindhunter getting cancelled is disappointing given its acclaim, but it's probably for the best if the alternative was to change a core aspect of the show.
Mindhunter executive producer David Fincher provides an in-depth explanation regarding why season 3 of the show was cancelled. Created by Joe Penhall, Mindhunter was first released on Netflix in 2017, earning acclaim from audiences and critics alike for its twisted exploration of the FBI's early investigations into serial killer psychology. Season 2 released in 2019 and was similarly critically acclaimed, but a season 3 never arrived, and Fincher would finally confirm last February that it had been scrapped.
Fincher now provides a detailed explanation regarding Mindhunter season 3's cancellation during an interview with Première Magazine (via The Fincher Analyst on X, translated from French).
The director reveals that, ultimately, it was a matter of cost, with the show just proving too expensive compared to its more limited audience appeal. Check out Fincher's full explanation below:
"Maybe House of Cards wasn't a huge risk, but Mindhunter was. A procedural on behavioral sciences that would be neither X-Files, nor CSI, nor Criminal Minds, but would function as the portrait of a guy who loses his virginity in the world of psychosexual sadists? We couldn't complete the trajectory, but it was a gamble. An expensive series, too. Very expensive. We went as far as we could until someone finally said to us, 'It makes no sense to produce this series like this, unless you can reduce the budget, or make it more pop, so that more people will watch it.'"
"We did not want to change our approach so, respectfully, they told us that they were drawing a line under it. That's it: I always take a slight step aside from what is expected of me. Otherwise, I'm not interested. At a test screening of Seven, in the second of silence just before the lights came back on, while everyone was gasping for air, I caught the producer cursing at me, 'This guy has taken a great thriller and made it into a foreign film!'"
Fincher Made The Right Decision About Mindhunter Season 3
Why It's For The Best That Season 2 Ended The Show
Fincher's comment suggests that Mindhunter season 2 may not have been the end if he and the creative team behind the show had decided to broaden the series' appeal. It's not clear what this would have entailed, but it could have included anything from adding in more traditional action sequences to leaning away from the show's dark tone and disturbing themes. Whatever it may have been, it would have changed the fabric of the show.
According to director Andrew Dominik, Mindhunter season 3 would have seen Holden and Trench go to Hollywood as their profiling methods gain more publicity.
While members of the Mindhunter cast have confirmed that they would have returned for season 3 should one have come together, it ultimately may not have been worth it if the show had returned with major changes. The series perhaps never found the large audience that it needed, but it earned great reviews from those who did watch it. Instead of continuing and sacrificing quality or artistic vision, it's certainly respectable that Fincher and the creative team decided to walk away.
The Mindhunter season 2 finale leaves the door open for the story to continue, meaning the show has now joined a growing list of other cancelled Netflix shows that didn't get a proper series finale. But, even with the finale not wrapping everything up with a tidy bow, it still caps off a strong season of television. Although it's disappointing that more serial killers weren't explored in a season 3 and beyond, at least Mindhunter's reputation will now never be sullied with a disappointing new season.
Mindhunter seasons 1 and 2 are now available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Première Magazine (via @FincherAnalyst)
Mindhunter
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Thriller
From executive producers David Fincher and Charlize Theron comes Mindhunter, a series that chronicles the founding of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit used to track and apprehend serial killers. Mindhunter follows Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they work to establish a framework for understanding the minds of some of America's most dangerous serial killers. Mindhunter adapts a number of true crime stories, including the BTK murders and the notorious Co-Ed Killer, Edmund Kemper.
- Release Date
- October 13, 2017
- Cast
- Jonathan Groff , Holt McCallany , Hannah Gross , Cotter Smith , Anna Torv , Stacey Roca , Cameron Britton , Michael Cerveris , Joe Tuttle , Lauren Glazier
- Seasons
- 2
- Story By
- Joshua Donen, Josh Douglas, Mark Olshaker, Courtenay Miles
- Writers
- Joe Penhall
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
- Directors
- David Fincher
- Showrunner
- Joe Penhall