Joe Penhall’s psychological drama Mindhunter arrived on Netflix in 2017, and ran for a criminally short 2 seasons. In my quest to binge psychological content- books, documentaries etc.- I came across this show.
Based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, Mindhunter follows Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), a grizzled FBI veteran approaching retirement, who finds himself paired up with plucky rookie Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff). Ford is convinced that studying serial killers could help the FBI to solve crimes, and potentially prevent others from happening.
Unfortunately, it’s 1977 and the team’s progress is hampered by narrow-minded scepticism from their peers and superiors. Not even the solid-science assistance from psychiatrist (and closet lesbian) Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) can guarantee acceptance from ageing bigwigs.
Fans of true crime will revel in the interwoven true stories of murder investigations like that of Betty Jean Shade – portrayed as Beverley Jean Shaw – and interviews with notorious murderers – the likes of Ed Kemper, Charles Manson and David ‘Son of Sam’ Berkowitz make key, prison-set appearances.
These days, Criminal Psychology is a well-documented field, both in terms of professional papers and true crime docu-series (the latter of which pepper Netflix’s home screen). In the 70s, those making that first foray into this niche area of study were met with fierce resistance.
By the end of the second series, they’ve solved enough cases that the FBI bigwigs are starting to come around to their way of thinking…
Then the show got cancelled. Showrunner David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) was busy with other things.
It’s a shame. It had a lot going for it, slightly predictable dialogue aside. Set design, time references (movies coming out, dress sense and of course, classic rock music) are all meticulously researched and well integrated.
If you’re into true crime and criminal psychology, this is a great re-enactment of early criminal psychological analysis.
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