The Behavior of the Mind…
Mindhunter is a psychological crime thriller series created by Joe Penhall, based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. The series debuted in 2017 and ran for two seasons. Executive producers for the series included Penhall, Charlize Theron, and David Fincher. Fincher served as the series’ most frequent director and de facto showrunner, overseeing many of the scriptwriting and production processes. 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.
The first season of 10 episodes debuted worldwide on Netflix on October 13, 2017.
Mindhunter revolves around FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, along with psychologist Wendy Carr, who operate the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit within the Training Division at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. 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.
The first season takes place from 1977 to 1980, in the early days of criminal psychology and criminal profiling at the FBI. Cameron Britton has a recurring role in this season as notorious serial killer Edmund Kemper, who is the first to assist Ford and Tench in understanding how a serial killer’s mind works. Other notable serial killers featured in the first season include Montie Rissell played by Sam Strike, Jerry Brudos played by Happy Anderson, Richard Speck played by Jack Erdie, and Dennis Rader also known as BTK, played by Sonny Valicenti.
Mindhunter is the Featured Television Blog of the Month for January! You can expect a detailed critique with a summary for the series first season. There is also a detailed recommendation of the series that includes a character synopsis. There is also a detailed review of the book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, that was the basis for Mindhunter. For the interview, Jonathan Groff sits down with Build and discusses Mindhunter. There is also a Top Ten List at the end of the hunt, and for Mindhunter, the list is My Top Ten Psychological Thriller Series. Last but not least, the Featured Television Blog of the Month includes an Official Trailer for the featured series!
You can watch the MIndhunter Official Trailer below: