Mindhunter’s Cancellation Explained By Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos

<a href="https://www.tvline.com/news/mindhunter-season-3-netflix-cancelled-david-fincher-1234935725/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>”Mindhunter” Season 3 never made it to the light of day, but that doesn’t mean that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos didn’t want it to. During a panel held by The Indian Express, Sarandos indicated that David Fincher’s schedule was the main reason why the series went on an indefinite hiatus. “We always anticipated there would be a third season, and he got very busy making a film,” Sarandos said. “And David is an unbelievably meticulous creator, so he couldn’t do two things at the same time, and he certainly didn’t want to shortchange either one.”

The series followed the early stages of criminal profiling, with FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) unpacking the behavioral patterns and mindset of serial killers on the loose. It also drew audiences in by focusing on how each case affected Ford and his colleagues on a personal level. 

For a while, many assumed that “Mindhunter” was canceled too soon over budget constraints. After all, Fincher himself suggested that the series’ viewership didn’t match up with production costs during an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche in 2023. “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 3],” Fincher said.

David Fincher is working with Netflix on a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel

Before the cancellation, the plan was to take “Mindhunter” Season 3 in a different direction. Andrew Dominik, who directed a few episodes from Season 2, told Collider that Holden Ford, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), and Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) would leave the basement and head to Hollywood next. The series would explore how profiling became part of the zeitgeist.

Despite the back-and-forth on the reasons why “Mindhunter” Season 3 was never made, David Fincher’s partnership with Netflix remains strong. The director will helm a “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” sequel titled “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.” The film will have a theatrical run of two weeks starting November 25 and will later premiere on Netflix on December 23.

Brad Pitt is set to return as the titular character, and the sequel will be set in Hollywood during the late ’70s. The screenplay will be penned by Quentin Tarantino, who gave Fincher his blessing to direct the sequel. The acclaimed filmmaker was “unenthused” by the prospect of his final film being a sequel, so he passed on the opportunity to direct it so that another high-caliber director could take it on.

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