‘Mindhunter’ Season 3 gets major update as Netflix CEO reveals what went wrong: ‘We always anticipated...’
'Mindhunter' will forever be remembered as one of those shows that ended far too soon. The Netflix crime thriller, in which celebrated director David Fincher served as de facto showrunner, has amassed a considerable following over the years. Its first season came out in 2017, with a second season following in 2019. The series was widely acclaimed, with an average critic score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. While Netflix never revealed the show's viewership data, its continued popularity on social media even after all these years suggests that it attracted a massive audience. Hence, it came as a shock to fans when years passed without any update on the show’s third season. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has now finally revealed the streamer's plans for the show, and why they changed.
During an event in New Delhi hosted by The Indian Express, the co-CEO was asked to name a show he wished got a follow-up. Sarandos revealed that he had a show in mind that he wished had a part three. The show was none other than 'Mindhunter,' according to Collider. He further shared that a plan was always in place to make the third installment happen, but Fincher's busy schedule became a problem. "We always anticipated there would be a third season, and he got very busy making a film. And David is an unbelievably meticulous creator, so he couldn’t do two things at the same time, and he certainly didn’t want to short-change either one. So it just got pushed off and pushed off. I would have loved to have seen a third season of Mindhunter," he explained.
The information came as a surprise to the fanbase. They always believed that the show’s high production costs and viewership failing to justify its price tag were behind its cancellation. These reasons were reiterated by Fincher in 2020. “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,” the director shared during his conversation with Vulture in 2020. He highlighted the same sentiments during his 2023 interview with Forbes. “In the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment,” the director shared. But now Netflix is sharing its side of the story, and it apparently all came down to scheduling, which isn't as big a barrier to overcome as budget and viewership.
Despite the show last releasing new episodes around six years ago, fans have remained steadfast supporters. This could be partly because of how the sophomore installment ended. The second season concluded with Dennis Rader, the BTK killer, roaming free. The show had meticulously built the character's storyline across two seasons, and fans were intrigued to see how it all ended. However, they never got the chance. The show was never officially canceled, so there remains a possibility that it could return; at least, that’s what Sarandos would like to see happen. The show starring Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv followed the establishment of the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI. All episodes of the series are currently streaming on Netflix.
