‘Mindhunter’ Season 2 First Look: David Fincher Takes on Charles Manson in Netflix Return

Click here to read the full article.

Mindhunter” fans have been waiting for nearly two years for the second season of David Fincher’s Netflix serial killer drama, and fortunately the wait is almost over. Ahead of the show’s August return, Netflix has debuted a handful of first look photos from the upcoming batch of new episodes.

The second season once again stars Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany as FBI agents in the Behavioral Science Unit who interview notorious serial killers in order to solve ongoing cases. The new episodes cover the Atlanta child murders, a series of killings that took place between 1979 and 1981 and left 28 African-American children, teenagers, and adults dead. In order to crack the case, the FBI agents turn to such iconic serial killers as Charles Manson (photo above) and Son of Sam (final photo below).

More from IndieWire

Fincher previously teased that one of the big differences between the “Mindhunter” seasons is that the new episodes take place at a time when serial killers were becoming the topics of everyday conversations. The first season depicted the birth of the FBI’s criminal psychology and criminal profiling division, which meant it was largely a hush operation confined to the basement. The world is a much different place in “Mindhunter” Season 2.

“In the 70s, post-Manson, post-Son of Sam, post-Zodiac, there really was, I don’t think you can say it was an epidemic, but there was definitely the feeling this has gotten away from us,” Fincher said about the atmosphere of Season 2. “There was this transition. I remember it happening with Son of Sam. When I left the Bay Area in the mid 1970s and our parents moved to Oregon, you go 300 miles north and nobody talked about Zodiac. It had been this festering thing that had never been brought to any kind of closure but no one cared about it [outside of the Bay Area]. Then Son of Sam came, and it was Newsweek and Time, the cover.”

In addition to Groff and McCallany, “Mindhunter” Season 2 also features the return of series regular Anna Torv. The new season debuts August 16 on Netflix. Check out a handful of first look photos below.

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.