'Mindhunter': Why Season 3 Is Reportedly 'on Hold'

After waiting two years for the second season, fans may be waiting even longer for Mindhunter Season 3. Amid looming fears that the popular Netflix crime drama will be canceled, following in the footsteps of other Netflix originals that have met the same fate after just two or three seasons, a new report suggests that the series is "on hold" until further notice.

In a The Hollywood Reporter profile of series star Jonathan Groff, who portrays agent Holden Ford, it was noted that "talk of a third season of Mindhunter is on hold while [David] Fincher focuses on his next feature." That feature is his upcoming film Mank, a biopic about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz that began production earlier this month.

This means that a third season could be pushed back until 2021 or even 2022. For comparison, following the Season 1 premiere back in October of 2017, the streamer had almost immediately picked up Mindhunter for a second season, making the official announcement in early December of that same year. Season 2 debuted two years later in August of this year.

News of the delay doesn't necessarily come as a surprise as Fincher has put a heavy hand into the series. While he only directed the first two episodes of House of Cards, he has been much more involved in Mindhunter and directed half of the Season 1 episodes and three of the nine Season 2 episodes.

At this time, Netflix has not yet officially renewed Mindhunter for a third season, though the series was reportedly made with a five seasons plan. Speaking to PopCulture.com ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Holt McCallany teased that that plan had already been skewed within the first two seasons.

"We did have a bible, a five-season bible, that existed when we began rehearsals for season one. However, I do know that many of the ideas that were contained in that have already been modified or abandoned. So there are a lot of different possibilities," McCallany said. "One of the exciting things about working in series television when the writing is good, is that you are on this journey that nobody really can be 100 percent certain of what the destination is, not even the writers."

McCallany also teased his hopes for a Season 3 renewal, saying that "we are hopeful that we will get to do the whole five seasons because the audience seems to have really responded to the show, people really like the show. And we're very proud of the show, and very excited to keep making the show."

Mindhunter Seasons 1 and 2 are available for streaming on Netflix.