‘Mindhunter’: 8 Shows to Watch If You Love the Netflix Original

It could be months before fans delve back into the minds of serial killers in Mindhunter Season 2, but there are plenty of other shows that are likeminded to keep fans held over.

Featuring elements of the classic police procedural, Mindhunter sets itself apart from other crime dramas by exploring the way in which the Behavioral Analysis’ modern-day criminal profiling method was formed, drawing inspiration from real-life events documented in pioneers of criminal profiling Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas’s book Mindhunter.

Set in the 1970s and following a team of two FBI agents, Holden Ford and Bill Tench, alongside psychologist Wendy Carr as they conduct interviews with prolific serial killers in an attempt to catch those still on the loose, the series quickly rose to the top of the best Netflix original series, and while there is no premiere date in sight for Season 2, there are plenty of other must-watch series just as riveting as Mindhunter.

Keep scrolling to see the eight shows you must watch while you wait for Mindhunter Season 2.

Criminal Minds

While the Netflix original series details the very beginnings of criminal profiling, CBS series Criminal Minds practically acts as a sequel.

Set in the modern day rather than the ’70s, Criminal Minds is all but the future of Mindhunter, showing how the techniques forged by FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, and their real-life counterparts, are put to use by the now fully forged Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Throughout the series’ 14 seasons, federal agents with the BAU travel across the country to form a criminal profile of the unsub and catch them before they commit their next crime.

Seasons 1 – 12 are available for streaming on Netflix. Episodes from all seasons, including the most recent season, are available for CBS All Access subscribers.

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Debuting on the streaming platform on Jan. 24, The Ted Bundy Tapes offers viewers a real-life glimpse into the interviews conducted by the Behavioral Analysis Unit in its early days.

The four-part docuseries, focused on convicted serial killer Ted Bundy, features interviews with the murderer conducted by the BAU’s Bill Hagmier in the 1980s all the way up to the day before Bundy’s execution. The series is reminiscent of agent Holden Ford and Bill Tench’s continued interviews with Ed Kemper in Mindhunter, giving viewers a disturbing view into a serial killer’s crimes as told by the killer themselves.

It was Hagmier’s more than 100 hours of audio recordings with Bundy that helped the BAU get their best insight into the criminal mind.

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is available for streaming on Netflix.

Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer

If delving into the minds of serial killers is what got you hooked on Mindhunter, then Netflix’s Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer should be the next binge on your list.

The one season, 10-episode series, mixes psychological analysis, fictional re-enactments, and real-life footage as it delves into the psyches of not only America’s, but the world’s most infamous serial killers, including American soldier Eddie Leonski, who strangled multiple women, Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist who committed the 2011 Norway attacks, Surinder Koli, dubbed the Slumdog Canibal, as well as several more.

Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer is available for streaming on Netflix.

Manhunt: Unabomber

Just as Criminal Minds does, Manhunt: Unabomber shows detectives putting the BAU’s fully developed criminal profiling method to work, this time during a true investigation.

The miniseries, consisting of nine episodes, details a fictional account of the FBI’s Unabomber investigation in the ’90s, with Paul Bettany portraying Ted Kaczynski, and Sam Worthington portraying Jim Fitzgerald, the FBI agent that developed the profile on Kaczynski (better known as the Unabomber), that led to his eventual arrest.

Manhunt: Unabomber is available for streaming on Netflix.

The Fall

Set in modern times, BBC police procedural The Fall offers a blaring study into why a serial killer star is committing his crimes.

The series, set in Northern Ireland, follows Superintendent Stella Gibson, a senior police officer investigating a string of cases in Belfast, Northern Ireland involving the murders of several young women. Split in two, the series also gives equal screen time to Paul Specter, a dad and social worker who stalks the streets at night looking for his next victim.

All three seasons of The Fall are available for streaming on Netflix.

Hannibal

Taking a more artistic and surreal approach on the criminal mind, Hannibal follows one of the most prolific fictional serial killers of all time, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen, Dr. Lecter forms an unusual partnership with criminal profiler Will Graham, who enlists Dr. Lecter’s expertise in the field of psychiatry to help him solve crimes for the FBI, not realizing that he is enlisting the help of a man who has more in common with the criminals they hunt than the force trying to stop them.

Hannibal is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

True Detective

While Mindhunter puts its attention on the psyche of the serial killer, True Detective is equal parts focused on the mind of the criminal and the mind of the detectives

Starring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and this season, Mahershali Ali, the anthology series, which switches up its cast for every season, follows troubled detectives and the investigations that drive them to the edge.

Season 1, taking place in Louisiana, followed a pair of Louisiana State Police homicide detectives, and their pursuit of a serial killer over a 17-year period.

Meanwhile, Season 2 focused on three detectives from three cooperating police departments in California as they investigated as they investigated a series of crimes they believed were linked to the murder of a corrupt politician. The third season took in the Ozarks over three separate time periods as two state police detectives investigated a macabre crime involving two missing children.

True Detective is available for streaming on HBO.

Dexter

Whereas Mindhunter delves into the minds of serial killers by way of a series of interviews, Dexter offers viewers a glimpse into the mind of a killer almost entirely from a first-person narrative.

The fictional series follows Dexter, who works for the Miami Police as a blood splatter analyst. However, once he goes home from his day job, he leads a second life as vigilante serial killer who only targets those who have managed to escape the law.

The series offers an exclusive peek into the criminal mind, and is just as addictive as David Fincher’s Netflix original. Dexter has even drawn comparison to Mindhunter lead character Holden Ford thanks to his intrinsic interest in understanding serial killers.

All eight seasons of Dexter are available for streaming on Netflix.