The story
In the late 1970s, Holden Ford and his fellow FBI agent Bill Tench, later joined by psychologist Wendy Carr, start interviewing imprisoned serial killers to understand what drives them – and to use that knowledge on cases that are still open. Working out of the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, they help lay the foundations of criminal profiling, while the conversations take their toll. The killers they meet are modelled on real convicted murderers.
Why it matters
Mindhunter reunited Netflix with David Fincher, who had found his feet in television on House of Cards. Its meticulous, cinematic approach to true crime drew strong reviews, yet Fincher later admitted the audience never justified the cost – a candid illustration of the economics that can stall even acclaimed streaming dramas.
Notable facts
- The project was set up at Fox 21 with HBO in 2010 and moved to Netflix in December 2015. (source)
- Holden Ford is loosely based on FBI agent John E. Douglas, co-author of the book the series adapts. (source)
- The killers' prison-interview dialogue was taken from real interviews. (source)
- Netflix released the cast from their contracts in January 2020 so they could seek other work. (source)