Mindhunter Season 3 In Doubt After David Fincher’s Comments

It seems as though Mindhunter Season 3 might not be going ahead over at Netflix after all, at least if David Fincher’s recent comments are anything to go by. Before we get into the weeds of this story, we have to be very transparent here; we were previously told that the third season of Mindhunter was “on the cards” over at Netflix.

However, it seems as though things might have changed recently between Fincher and Netflix, and it might have all come down to money. Mindhunter seasons 1 and 2 were quite expensive shows to make, and for some odd reason, the first two seasons didn’t really get the viewership that Netflix was hoping for.

It actually seems as though Mindhunter Season 2 ended up being far less popular with Netflix subscribers than Netflix and Fincher expected it to be. It was exacerbated by the fact that Fincher found the second season very stressful to make, and Netflix ended up spending quite a bit of money in order to get the second season made.

Mindhunter Season 3 might not happen after all

Credit: Netflix

READ MORE: Is Mindhunter Season 3 In The Works At Netflix?

So, during an interview with the French media outlet Le Journal Du Dimanche, Fincher was asked whether the third season of Mindhunter could ever happen. Well, he did give a response, and it wasn’t the one we were hoping to hear.

Here’s what Fincher had to say on the matter (via DiscussingFilm on Twitter):

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.

This is sad to hear, but then again, there have been many outlets reporting that the show is dead, which isn’t actually what Fincher was saying. There is always the possibility that another streaming platform or a network might be interested in purchasing the show’s rights from Netflix and then make the third season.

I could see a company such as Amazon Studios thinking that there might be some benefits in getting Mindhunter on their streaming platform, Prime Video. Even though Fincher says that the first two seasons didn’t attract enough of an audience on Netflix, I think there would be many new viewers interested in discovering the show on another platform, especially after the reports revealing that Netflix has been haemorrhaging subscribers recently.

Could David Fincher be playing hardball with Netflix here?

Credit: Netflix

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That said, as it stands, it doesn’t look good for Mindhunter Season 3. Netflix still owns the IP and it would be pretty expensive for another streamer to swoop in and save the show and then make the third season. I’m not too sure whether it would be justified.

The fact of the matter is that a show like Mindhunter was always going to struggle to find an audience on Netflix. It’s not really the right place for a show like this one. I think that HBO would have been a much better home for Mindhunter, and we would have probably ended up with more than three seasons if the show had been made for the network.

That said, could David Fincher be playing hardball? It’s possible that his negotiations with Netflix over the third season haven’t gone all that well, and him coming out and publically stating that things aren’t looking good for the third season because Netflix doesn’t want to spend the money on it is his way of getting the streamer to revise its position.

That’s a bit of a long shot and would be a very bold strategy, but imagine how happy fans would be if it worked. Just looking at the reaction on Twitter, it’s evident that the show has its fans, and they were very upset to hear this news.

What do you make of this news? Are you sad to hear that Mindhunter Season 3 might not happen on Netflix after all? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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