‘Mindhunter’ Season 2: Everything We Know

Netflix is getting ready to sit viewers down across from some of America’s most notorious serial killers in Mindhunter Season 2, but with Season 1 having aired more than a year ago, there are still a lot of unknowns about the upcoming season.

Debuting on the streaming platform in October of 2017, director David Fincher’s Mindhunter quickly drew the captivation of audiences intrigued with the psychology behind murder and understanding how a person can commit such heinous crimes as the ones depicted in the series.

Based on John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s 1995 true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, the series, set in the 1970’s, follows FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they attempt to shed the mystery behind serial killers and embark on the path of developing modern serial killer profiling.

The story debuted on the streaming giant to major success, and was quickly picked up for a second season in December of 2017, and in the months since, details have begun trickling out about Season 2.

Keep scrolling to see everything we know about Mindhunter Season 2.

It could premiere as early as summer 2019

While Netflix hasn’t yet officially confirmed a release date for the second season of the original series, it is believed that Mindhunter could be making its return as soon as June.

Speculation that the series would be returning this summer was first sparked after Mindhunter cinematographer Erik Messerschmitt revealed in a December Instagram post that the series had wrapped filming on its sophomore season.

While the show’s first season debuted in October, a month that some think the series will stick to, with filming having wrapped before the new year, many fans believed it meant an earlier premiere date.

Speaking to Metro in January, series creator Joe Penhall admitted that the premiere date is dependent on director David Fincher.

It will consist of 8 episodes

Season 1 of Mindhunter may have been 10-episodes long, but the story will be condensed into eight episodes for its sophomore run. According to casting director Jennifer Nash, who spoke to The Fincher Analyst in March of 2018, the shortened episode count doesn’t mean that fans will be cheated, as two of those eight episodes will be 2-hours-long.

Production on the episodes began in May. The 8-episode season will be directed by David Fincher, Andrew Dominik, and Carl Franklin.

It will focus on the Atlanta Child Murders

While Season 1 was set in 1977 largely focused on agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they teamed up with Professor Wendy Carr to form the beginnings of the Behavioral Science Unit (BAU) and modern serial-killer profiling in the basement of Quantico, Season 2 will jump ahead to 1979 and focus on the Atlanta Child Murders.

Occurring between 1979 and 1981, the crime involved a string of abductions and murders of African-American children, adolescents, and adults in the city of Atlanta. In total, 29 people were killed, two of which Wayne Bertram Williams was convicted of in 1982, though authorities announced that he was responsible for at least 23 of the 29 murders.

It will continue the interviews with a number of other real-life serial killers

When Netflix announced that Mindhunter would be returning for a second season, it stated that “we need to talk to more subjects,” and that is exactly what FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench will do throughout the course of the series’ sophomore run.

In total, it is believed that close to 10 serial killers will be featured in the upcoming season, including Wayne Williams. Notorious cult leader Charles Manson will also be featured, and will be portrayed by Australian actor Damon Herriman, who was also cast as Manson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Other serial killers to be featured are Manson family member Tex Watson, Elmer Wayne Henley (convicted for the Houston Mass Murders), David Berkowitz (Son of Sam/the .44 Caliber Killer), William Pierce Jr. (convicted of nine murders), William Henry Hance (The Stocking Strangler), and Paul Bateson (convicted of “The Bag Murders”).

The Son of Sam may come into play

Joining the serial killer roster in Season 2 may also be the notorious Son of Sam, aka the .44 Caliber killer, aka David Berkowitz.

Berkowitz’s name was among those included in a casting breakdown for the second season, and the breakdown was seemingly confirmed when Redditor waynedingo posted several set photos of set pieces meant to depict New York’s Attica Correctional Facility, the maximum-security prison where Berkowitz is serving 25-years-to-life.

Ed Kemper may not come back

Cameron Britton may have stolen the spotlight as infamous serial killer Ed Kemper in Season 1 of the Netflix original series, but he may be sitting Season 2 out.

“I have absolutely no idea whether or not I am in it because there are so many serial killers that the guys at the FBI have to interview,” Britton told TV Guide.

Britton’s portrayal of Kemper, who was convicted of murdering 10 people, including his own grandparents and mother, captivated and disturbed viewers throughout the course of Season 1 as he became the first serial killer that FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench interviewed, painting a grisly picture of the mind of a serial killer.

Britton previously revealed that he got into character by watching videos of and about Kemper on YouTube and that he “cut all of my emotions out” in order to make it “feel like these murders mean nothing to him.”

It’s not known what role the BTK Killer will play

One of the major subplots of Mindhunter Season 1 was Dennis Rader’s transition from an ADT serviceman into the beginnings of a serial killer who would become known as the BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill). The season ended with Rader, portrayed by Sonny Valicenti, burning photo evidence of dead women in Park City, Kansas, but currently, his role in Season 2 remains relatively unknown.

According to the same casting breakdown that listed the other serial killers for the second season, Rader will continue to have a presence in the series, though it is unclear if his storyline will continue to string the episodes together. Rader was a major point of interest for FBI profiler John Douglas, whom the character Holt Ford is based, so it seems likely that his fascination with BTK will play out in the upcoming season.

Rader began his crimes in 1974, killing 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas metro area before his arrest in 2005. During his crime spree, he sent a number of letters to police and newspapers detailing his crimes. He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to 10 charges of first degree murder.

It probably won’t be the final season

Season 2 will be doing more than just introducing fans to a number of notorious serial killers, it will also be helping to pave the path for future seasons. According to series creator Joe Penhall, there are already a total of three additional seasons being planned.

“I think the trajectory; because I wrote a five season Bible, so the idea is a bit like the real Don Douglas, and that these guys become increasingly successful and the caliber of the interviewees becomes increasingly illustrious and famous,” he said. Don gains more and more notoriety and with that comes problems…narcissism, their own self-absorption, their own need for attention and fame starts to accrue.”

“The idea, if we ever get to season 5, is that by season 5 he’s not a behavioral profile anymore he writes successful books and consults on Hollywood films,” he revealed. “A bit like Don Douglas, you know the original behavioral profile list. So the idea is for it to get weird.”