Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has named Mindhunter as the series he wishes had been given another season.
During an appearance at an Indian Express event in New Delhi, Sarandos was asked which Netflix project he wished had received another installment. His answer was Mindhunter, specifically the third season that never happened. Sarandos said Netflix had expected the crime series to continue after Season 2.
According to Sarandos, the problem was David Fincher's schedule. After completing the second season, Fincher became busy with Mank, his 2020 film for Netflix. Sarandos explained that Fincher did not want to divide his attention between major projects, so plans for a third season kept getting pushed back.
That explanation adds another side to the long-running question of why Mindhunter stopped.
Fincher previously said the series was expensive compared with the size of its audience. In 2020, he also spoke about how demanding the production had become, with the workload leaving him unsure whether he wanted to immediately begin developing another season. In 2023, he again said Netflix could not justify the cost of Season 3 based on the show's viewership.
Netflix never issued a traditional cancellation announcement. In January 2020, the company placed the series on indefinite hold and released Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Anna Torv from their contracts so they could take other roles. At the time, Netflix said Fincher could return to the series in the future.
Mindhunter premiered in 2017 and follows FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, played by Groff and McCallany, as they work with psychologist Wendy Carr, played by Torv. Their interviews with convicted serial killers become part of an early effort to understand criminal behavior and use those patterns in active investigations. Season 2 arrived in August 2019.
There is still a small possibility that the story could return in another form.
In 2025, McCallany said he had spoken with Fincher about potentially bringing Mindhunter back as three two-hour Netflix movies. He also said writers had been working on material for the idea, but stressed that nothing had been approved.
As of August 2026, Netflix has not announced a third season or approved the proposed movies.
Sarandos' comments do make one thing clearer. Netflix had expected Mindhunter to continue, and even years later, its co-CEO still counts the missing third season among the projects he wishes the company had been able to make.
