Don't Expect 'Mindhunter' Season 3 Anytime Soon (Or Maybe Ever)

Mindhunter, one of the very best shows Netflix has ever produced, might indeed be over. We've heard rumblings of this ever since the second season ended. The cast members of the David Fincher-produced series were released from their contracts after season 2, and there's been very little news since then. Now, Fincher is suggesting the show is probably over, or, at the very least, on hold – and will remain on hold for the foreseeable future.

Is this the end of Mindhunter? I sure hope not, since it's such a fantastic series. But David Fincher, the executive producer and frequent director of the show, which chronicles the early days of FBI serial killer profiling, is suggesting that the show won't be returning anytime soon. In November of 2019 it was reported that season 3 was on hold until Fincher finished working on Mank, his new Netflix movie about the writing of Citizen Kane. But Mank is done now – and Fincher doesn't seem to be in any hurry to start Mindhunter back up again.

"Mindhunter was a lot for me," the filmmaker said (via Vulture). "It's a 90-hour workweek. It absorbs everything in your life. When I got done, I was pretty exhausted, and I said, 'I don't know if I have it in me right now to break season three.'"

In January of this year, word broke that the show's cast had been released from their contracts, usually a tell-tale sign that a show is doomed. However, those cast members have said that they're definitely up for more. "We're ready. We're ready. Whenever the call comes, we're ready to jump," said Jonathan Groff. And in the past, Fincher himself has said in the past that he would like the show to run for at least five seasons. But now that seems very much in doubt.

"Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was a very expensive show," Fincher said. "We talked about, 'Finish Mank and then see how you feel,' but I honestly don't think we're going to be able to do it for less than I did season two. And on some level, you have to be realistic — dollars have to equal eyeballs." In other words: Fincher doesn't want to compromise just to release another season. And while I can respect that, I'd really like some more Mindhunter, please and thank you.

So is there any hope? Possibly. Vulture reached out to a Netflix spokesperson to see if we might ever get a third season, to which the spokesperson replied "Maybe in five years." See you then, I guess.