Geekery: David Fincher’s ‘Mindhunter’ Returns Next Month
Holden Ford, Bill Tench, and Wendy Carr are tackling a new big case this season, and sitting down with Manson.
For those that didn’t catch the first season (it’s available on Netflix now), it’s loosely based on John E. Douglas’ book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit and his time in the FBI. Douglas has inspired several well known characters in fiction… like Jack Crawford in Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter books. He made a name by interviewing serial killers like Gacy, Manson, Berkowitz, and more for the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit in the 1970s.
The first season took the real crime genre in a different direction – the interviews don’t contain any flashbacks. They rely on the words of those interviewed, unflinching cinematography, and phenomenal performances to create tension and fear. Cameron Britton’s turn as Edmund Kemper was terrifying.
Fans have been waiting for the continuation – and Ford’s fate – for two years. The new season was hinted at earlier this year, and we now have a date and some details thanks to an interview KCRW did with producer David Fincher. In it he revealed that the arc will cover the Atlanta Child Murders, which occurred between 1979 and 1981.
You could probably do three seasons on the Atlanta Child Murders. It’s a huge and sweeping and tragic story. We couldn’t do it justice in the background of our nine hours. [The FBI] are the last guys in, they’re trying to help out something that has its own momentum and politics. It’s a divided battlefield. They’re coming in to throw this federal umbrella over everything to make everyone feel OK about sharing information.
We’ll also be seeing sit downs with David Berkowitz and Charles Manson (played by Damon Herriman, who is also portraying the cult leader in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Fincher is continuing pulling in great directors – Andrew Dominik’s (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly) name was dropped.
You can listen to the to the full interview here. Hopefully we’ll be getting a first look soon – we’re only a month out.
Mindhunter Season 2 drops on Netflix August 16th.
