'Mindhunter': Jonathan Groff Speaks on Cancellation, Has Surprising Take
More than two years after Netflix's hit crime drama Mindhunter was all but canceled as showrunner David Fincher pursued other projects, series star Jonathan Groff is speaking out. Groff starred in the series, which chronicled the early days of criminal psychology and criminal profiling within the FBI, as agent Holden Ford, and while the abrupt end of the show devastated fans, Groff said he simply felt honored to be a part of Mindhunter.
The actor opened up about Mindhunter's seeming end in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, telling the outlet that for him, "Mindhunter is Fincher" and the "whole experience for me was the honor and privilege of getting to work with him. This was the main draw for me. This was the main joy of getting to have that experience." Asked if he was "inconsolable" after news broke that the show would not be returning for a third season anytime soon, Groff used a sports anaology to describe his feelings, sharing that "it's like the [1997-1998] Chicago Bulls. Do you go for another season with the team? Or do you just do what the general manager says?" Groff said that "if the general manager believes that it should stop, you have to go with the general manager. And this is how I feel with David." Groff said he trusts Fincher's "vision and his instincts, and so I leave it always in his hands, as ever."
After debuting on the platform in 2017, Netflix announced in August 2019, just days after the Season 2 premiere, that Mindhunter was put on an "indefinite hold" and there were no plans for a third season. In a statement, the streamer shared that Fincher was "focused on directing his first Netflix film Mank and on producing the second season of Love, Death and Robots," adding that while Fincher "may revisit Mindhunter again in the future," he felt that in the meantime "it wasn't fair to the actors to hold them from seeking other work while he was exploring new work of his own." At the time, all cast members were released from their contracts.
Should Fincher one day wish to return to Mindhunter, Groff said he would be all in to return as agent Holden Ford. He told THR, "the minute he says he wants to do another one, I'll be there in a second." As for his co-stars, Groff said he thinks they would be just as willing and excited to reprise their roles, the actor noting, "there's such a reverence for Fincher. I can't imagine that every single person wouldn't jump at the opportunity to go back."
Mindhunter is an adaptation of John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker's true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Serial Crime Unit. In addition to Groff, the series starred Holt McCallany as Tench and Anna Torv as psychology professor Wendy Carr. It also starred Joe Tuttle, Albert Jones, Stacey Roca, Michael Cerveris, Lauren Glazier, and Sierra McClain. The first two and only seasons of Mindhunter are available for streaming on Netflix.