David Fincher says Mindhunter ‘didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify investment’ in season three

David Fincher has confirmed that a third season of Mindhunter is not in the works at Netflix.

Following on from its first season in 2017, the acclaimed thriller series released season two in August 2019. Since then, fans have been vocal about their wishes for a third instalment.

Mindhunter follows two FBI agents (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) and a psychologist (Anna Torv) who launch a research project to profile serial killers in order to understand them better.

In an interview with French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche, director David Fincher reflected on his series and gave fans a disappointing update on season three.

“I’m very proud of the first two seasons. But it’s a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment [for season three],” Fincher said.

The Twin Peaks filmmaker made it clear that he does not blame the streaming giant.

“They took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it, and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer [his next feature],” he said.

“It’s a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.”

The news comes as little surprise after an early 2020 announcement said that the show had been on “indefinite hold” with lead actors Groff, McCallany, and Torv released from their contracts.

In a previous interview with Vulture, Fincher called the production “gruelling and time-consuming” and added that the show was “probably” done.

“When I got done [with season two], I was pretty exhausted, and I said, ‘I don’t know if I have it in me right now to break season three,’” he explained.

In the same interview, a spokesperson for Netflix said that while a third instalment was not currently in the works, it could happen “maybe in five years”.