[3] The series stars Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv, and follows the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the late 1970s and the beginning of criminal profiling.

[7] In January 2020, Netflix announced that the potential for a third season was on indefinite hold as Fincher wanted to pursue other projects, but may "revisit [the series] in the future".

Together they launch a research project to interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology with the hope of applying this knowledge to solve ongoing cases.

[19][20] Fincher, who was mostly known as a director and producer in films, felt at that time that television was "completely foreign" until he worked on the political drama House of Cards, for which he co-produced and directed the first two episodes.

[17] When Fincher finally felt comfortable with television as a medium after doing House of Cards,[17] Theron suggested playwright and screenwriter Joe Penhall as the project's writer,[17][18] replacing Buck.

[29] Wendy Carr is a fictional character based on psychiatric forensic nurse researcher Ann Wolbert Burgess,[30][31] a prominent Boston College nursing professor who collaborated with the FBI agents in the Behavioral Science Unit and procured grants to conduct research on serial murderers, serial rapists, and child molesters.

[32][33] Her work is based on treating survivors of sexual trauma and abuse, and studying the thought process of violent offenders.

[33] The serial killer characters were modeled on the actual convicted criminals and their prison scene dialogues were taken from real interviews.

[43] In January 2020, Netflix announced that the cast had been released from their contracts and that the series was on indefinite hold, as Fincher was busy with other projects.

"), production (the second season showrunner was fired and eight of the scripts were rewritten), management (co-producer Peter Mavromates said of Fincher, "Even when he wasn't directing an episode, he was overseeing it.

The site's critics consensus reads: "Mindhunter distinguishes itself in a crowded genre with ambitiously cinematic visuals and a meticulous attention to character development.