We’ve definitely been getting a lot of announcements from Netflix of late, but just when we thought it couldn’t get any more exciting than Scorsese’s The Irishman heading directly to the streaming platform sometime in 2019, we have now found out that Netflix is teaming up with our beloved David Fincher for a new series called Mindhunter.
Fincher, who was linked to the World War Z sequel, is known as one of the most talented and demanding filmmakers out there. This also isn’t his first foray into the magical world of television, as he was an integral part of the team that brought us the American version of House of Cards (he even directed the first two episodes).
In recent years, Fincher has tried to get projects rolling over at HBO, but none of them ended up panning out. The first was a remake of the British TV series Utopia, and the second was a show called Videosyncrazy, set in the 80’s music video world. Both were halted during production, and as a result, Fincher is working with Netflix again for Mindhunter.
Mindhunter is an adaptation of John Douglas’ Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, a non-fiction book written Special Agent Douglas, chronicling his search for some of the world’s most vicious serial killers and rapists. Considered to be the seminal book about profiling, it feels like a perfect match for Fincher.
For anyone familiar with Fincher’s filmography, Mindhunters is an ideal project to follow in the footsteps of Se7en and Zodiac (quite possibly the best serial killer/investigation movie ever made), and the teaser suggests that the series’ visual style will be somewhat similar to the 2007 film's. If they manage to recreate just a fragment of Zodiac’s brilliance, then we are in for a hell of a treat.
The show will take place in 1979, and will follow Jonathan Groff as Holden Ford, a profiler from the FBI’s behavioral unit. There aren’t many details on the rest of the plot yet, but the teaser trailer suggests a dark and brooding show about feds tracking down humanity’s worst criminals.The cast also includes Holt McCallany and Anna Torv (Fringe), and Fincher is set to direct three episodes himself. Amy director Asif Kapadia and Andrew Douglas are joining the maestro behind the camera.
The show is set to debut on Netflix in October. As the cryptic teaser already shows great promise, and with such a talented team at the helm, this definitely makes our most anticipated list of 2017. If you, like us, are saddened by Hannibal’s cancellation, and happen to be a fan of Fincher’s work, Mindhunter will likely serve as a more than worthy successor.