Netflix’s 2-Part Psychological Thriller Is Secretly One Of Its Best Series

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Despite not always appearing on ‘best of Netflix’ lists, the psychological thriller Mindhunter is a truly outstanding show and deserves more recognition. Many critically praised Netflix series don’t achieve the same widespread popularity as hits like Stranger Things or Wednesday.

Many excellent TV shows on Apple TV+ have been overlooked after their initial release, and the same often happens with acclaimed series on Netflix. For example, Ripley (2024) and Maniac (2016) were both gripping, well-acted shows with fantastic stories that received great reviews, but they didn’t break through to become widely popular.

Why Mindhunter Is One Of Netflix’s Best Shows

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

A prime example of this is David Fincher’s series Mindhunter. Inspired by the book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, the Netflix show follows two FBI agents, played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, as they interview notorious serial killers in an attempt to understand their psychology.

While shows like Criminal Minds presented criminal profiling as a straightforward method, Mindhunter delved into how the practice originated and consistently questioned whether it actually worked. The show’s main characters themselves aren’t convinced their work building the FBI’s unit for psychological investigations is truly effective, and the series intentionally leaves that question unanswered.

Most psychological thrillers present criminal psychology as a clear-cut science, especially since films like The Silence of the Lambs. But Mindhunter is different – it offers a much more complex and uncertain look at the field, which is a big part of what makes it one of the best thrillers of the last ten years.

Mindhunter Was Underrated (& Canceled Way Too Early)

True crime and psychological thriller shows often fall into predictable patterns when exploring why people harm each other. They might try to excuse a criminal’s actions by giving them a difficult past, suggesting trauma leads to crime. Alternatively, they might avoid explaining the reasons at all, implying that some people are just inherently evil.

Both of those explanations feel incomplete, both emotionally and logically, and that’s what makes the Netflix thriller Mindhunter so good. It’s disappointing that it was canceled after just two seasons, especially when other shows covering similar ground – but in a more straightforward, popular way – have run for years and created entire franchises.

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2026-03-12 16:07