Mindhunter lasted two seasons on Netflix but became one of the most acclaimed titles on the streamer.
David Fincher, who directed several episodes, has earlier blamed the streamer for scrapping it.
Now, Netflic co-CEO Ted Sarandos has confessed Fincher might be responsible for the same.
A startlingly different reason has been dropped regarding why Netflix ultimately cancelled David Fincher's series Mindhunter after two seasons. The crime drama ended in August 2019, triggering massive fan outrage and heartburn.
Speaking at a panel hosted by The Indian Express, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was asked about a sequel or continuation of a series that he wished had been made. He said it was Mindhunter.
Netflix Co-CEO On Mindhunter's Cancellation
Sarandos laid the blame for the show's non-renewal on Fincher.
"It’s not a part two, it’s a part three that I wish we would’ve got to. ‘Mindhunter’, David Fincher’s series on Netflix that… 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 just do two things at the same time, and he certainly didn’t want to shortchange either one. So it got pushed off and pushed off and, I would’ve loved to have seen a third season of ‘Mindhunter'.
This puts a different spin on what the existing narrative about the show's scrapping has been, buttressed by Fincher's allegations.
In a 2023 interview with Vulture, Fincher insisted the show’s production was “gruelling and time-consuming”, adding: "Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show. We talked about 'Finish Mank and then see how you feel’, but I honestly don't think we're going to be able to do it for less than I did season two. And on some level, you have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs."
Mindhunter tails two FBI agents (played by Jonathan Groff and McCallany) and a psychologist (Anna Torv) who launch a research project to profile serial killers in order to understand them better.
Fincher has exclusively worked with Netflix for over a decade now on Mank and The Killer and is now bracing for the release of the Brad Pitt-led The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, which the streamer is going to debut theatrically later this year replete with an IMAX run. It will mark Fincher's first theatrical feature release since Gone Girl (2014). The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth will hit Netflix on December 23, 2026.
