Netlix has officially renewed its critically acclaimed series Mindhunter for a second season. Based on real-life FBI Agent John Douglas, the hour-long crime thriller Mindhunter has delved into the famed criminal profiler’s experiences like no other series or film has done before.


A criminal psychologist who concentrated on getting into the minds of serial killers in an effort to understand what was behind their murderous ways, Douglas was first used as the inspiration for the FBI Agent Jack Crawford character in Thomas Harris’ best-selling novels Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs. As a result, Crawford became a key character in all of the adaptations of Harris’ novels, from the film Manhunter (played by Dennis Farina), The Silence of The Lambs (Scott Glenn), and Red Dragon (Harvey Keitel) to the TV series Hannibal (Laurence Fishburne). Now, Douglas’ work is being spotlighted once again, this time in the guise of FBI Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) in Netflix’s Mindhunter.


Netflix has now confirmed that Mindhunter season 2 is officially a go. The streaming giant was no doubt encouraged by the critical response to season 1 (created by Joe Penhall and executive produced by David Fincher), which earned 69 “Fresh” reviews out of 72 reviews total for a stellar ranking on the critic aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Netflix made the announcement about Mindhunter‘s return on Twitter (see below), but did not give any additional details.


Joined by fellow FBI Agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Mindhunter essentially chronicles the beginning of Douglas’ career, as Ford and Tench take to then-unusual method of interviewing serial killers in an effort to gain an understanding of their methods to prevent future similar crimes. Set in the 1970s, Ford and Tench interview the likes of real-life serial killers Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) and Richard Speck (Jack Erdie), but pushing the boundaries of acceptable practices to mine their data.

https://twitter.com/MINDHUNTER_/status/936267334091550721


With any luck, Mindhunter, which had 10 episodes for season 1, will increase to the standard 13 episode format for season 2. Three more episodes would not only allow for three more hours of compelling storytelling about the psychology behind America’s most notorious serial killers, it would give the show more of an ensemble cast that’s giving their all onscreen.


Groff, who rose to prominence in Glee, is showing that he has incredible range in a much more dramatic role, while McCallany has largely been featured in character roles in his career (most recently, he was the unnamed criminal who faced off against Batman in the opening scene in Justice League) and is finally getting his just due with a lead role. On top of that, Groff and McCallany have perfect chemistry with Anna Torv, who became a major supporting player as season 1 progressed, as a criminal psychology academic. Best of all, though, is the exposure fans get to relative unknowns like Britton, whose calm, nonchalant demeanor as Kemper made for one of the most chilling characters on television this year.