Mindhunter: Fincher’s two-season crime drama still stands out

David Fincher has long been drawn to the study of criminal behavior, with films such as Se7en, Zodiac, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl offering stark portraits of killers. He helped establish Netflix’s early prestige television with House of Cards, and four years later created Mindhunter, a psychological thriller loosely based on FBI profiler John Douglas’s memoir.

The show ran for two seasons, each widely praised, and its lack of renewal since the summer of 2019 has hung over Fincher’s career; while a return seems unlikely, the existing episodes rank among the best crime dramas on television. Mindhunter centers on FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), who launches an investigative study into criminal psychology after a traumatic incident pulls him out of active duty.

He forms a partnership with Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and psychology professor Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), and increasingly finds his sympathies for the people he interviews complicating his objectivity.

United States

mindhunter, david fincher, netflix, holden ford, jonathan groff, fbi profiler, john douglas, bill tench, wendy carr, crime drama