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Mindhunter: Where to Watch, Episodes, Cast & Reviews

TV Show Expert

26 Jul 2025 — 5 min read

Dive into the chilling world of serial killers and the agents who study them in Mindhunter, David Fincher’s cerebral crime thriller Explore episode counts, gripping plotlines, stellar cast performances, and global reviews—plus find out exactly where you can stream both seasons of this critically acclaimed Netflix series right now online.

How Many Seasons and Episodes Does Mindhunter Have?

Mindhunter ran for two seasons before Netflix placed the series on indefinite hold in 2020.

Season	Year Released	Episodes	Notable Focus
1	2017	10	Launch of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) and early profiling interviews 1
2	2019	9	Atlanta Child Murders case and expansion of the BSU 2 1

Total: 19 episodes across two seasons.

What Is the Plot/Storyline of Mindhunter?

Set between 1977 and 1981, Mindhunter chronicles the birth of modern criminal profiling inside the FBI. Ambitious young hostage-negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) teams up with seasoned agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) to form the fledgling Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico. Convinced that understanding why serial killers murder will help prevent future crimes, the duo—joined by Boston psychology professor Dr Wendy Carr (Anna Torv)—embarks on a cross-country research project to interview incarcerated killers.

Season 1 follows their tentative first steps. Interviews with towering necrophile Edmund “Kemper” Kemper (Cameron Britton) provide a macabre template, while other conversations with Richard Speck, Jerry Brudos and Montie Rissell reveal patterns about childhood trauma, sexual violence and escalating compulsion. As the agents codify terms like “sequence killer,” institutional resistance grows: old-guard bosses dismiss psychology as soft science, and local cops resent outside theorising. Meanwhile, Holden’s obsession with manipulation techniques strains his relationship with girlfriend Debbie Mitford and sets up a panic-attack cliff-hanger when Kemper turns the psychological tables 1.

Season 2 widens the canvas. Under new boss Ted Gunn (Michael Cerveris), the team confronts the real-world horrors of the Atlanta Child Murders (1979-81). Political pressure, media scrutiny and racial tension complicate their emerging profile of a local killer preying on Black children. Parallel subplots explore Bill’s crumbling home life after his adopted son is implicated in a toddler’s death, and Wendy’s struggle for professional parity and personal authenticity as a lesbian in a male-dominated Bureau. Interviews escalate in notoriety—Son of Sam, Charles Manson and BTK—each encounter sharpening the show’s central thesis: monsters are made, not born. The season ends without clear resolution in Atlanta, mirroring the case’s historical ambiguity and leaving viewers with an ominous montage of BTK planning future crimes 1.

Across both seasons, Fincher’s precision direction bathes drab bureaucratic offices and fluorescent prison blocks in muted greens and nicotine yellows, underscoring themes of moral decay. Dialogue-heavy interrogation sequences replace action with intellectual cat-and-mouse tension, while meticulous sound design (typewriter clacks, tape-recorder clicks) amplifies unease. Ultimately, Mindhunter is less a whodunit than a whydunit—a slow-burn meditation on the psychological cost of staring into the abyss.

What Are the Casts of Mindhunter?

Main and recurring performers

Jonathan Groff as Holden Ford
Holt McCallany as Bill Tench
Anna Torv as Dr Wendy Carr
Hannah Gross as Debbie Mitford (S1)
Cotter Smith as Unit Chief Robert Shepard (S1)
Stacey Roca as Nancy Tench
Michael Cerveris as Ted Gunn (S2)
Joe Tuttle as Greg Smith
Cameron Britton as Edmund Kemper
Sonny Valicenti as Dennis “BTK” Rader
Damon Herriman as Charles Manson (S2 cameo)

What Are the Reviews of Mindhunter?

Platform	Score / Consensus	Highlights
Reddit	Highly praised for realism and Fincher’s direction; frequent calls for Season 3 revival 3	Users dissect interview scenes and applaud Cameron Britton’s Kemper portrayal.
Douban	S1 9.0, S2 8.8 (out of 10) 4 5	Chinese viewers laud the show’s “冷峻質感” and psychological depth; some note slower pacing in S2.
IMDb	8.6/10 average from 374 k+ votes 6	Episodes “Episode #1.10” and “Episode #2.9” rank above 9.0 78.
Rotten Tomatoes	Season 1 96% 9; Season 2 99% 10; overall series page 97% 11	Critics call it “an unusually cerebral and chillingly absorbing drama.”

Reddit Reviews

Threads celebrate the show’s “Fincher film every episode” aesthetic and nuanced take on law-enforcement morality, though fans lament the indefinite hiatus and debate whether a third season is necessary 3.

Douban Reviews

Top-liked reviews describe Mindhunter as “灰色地帶的漫長凝視,” praising its refusal to glamorise violence while faulting its deliberate pacing 4 5.

IMDb Reviews

With an 8.6 rating, many users rank Mindhunter alongside True Detective for atmosphere, applauding Groff and McCallany’s chemistry and branding “Episode #2.5” a series peak 6 8.

Rotten Tomatoes Reviews

Both seasons enjoy “Certified Fresh” status. Critics emphasize meticulous production design and the show’s intellectual heft, noting Season 2’s broader sociopolitical canvas elevates the narrative stakes 10 9.

Where to Watch Mindhunter Online?

All 19 episodes of Mindhunter are available to stream worldwide on Netflix, including its ad-supported tier 12 13. At present no other subscription platform offers the series, though individual episodes can be purchased on major digital storefronts in select regions. Enjoy offline downloads, multiple subtitle tracks and HDR where supported.