Image via Netflix
Season two of Netflix’s Mindhunter premiered last weekend to much adoration from fans. Mindhunter was created by Joe Penhall and was based upon a book of the same title. It originally premiered on Netflix in 2017 and was set during the late 70’s, a time when behavioral science was in it’s infancy at the FBI. The second season takes place in the 80’s, and we will give no spoilers here.
The fascination with serial killers in the United States almost knows no bounds. Indeed, this is all on trend for Netflix as they also released two different Ted Bundy pieces this year: Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile starring the handsome Zac Efron. However, these both were hailed as “inelegant” and an “[…] attempt to reckon with the legacy of a brutal murderer who cynically cultivated his public image to make himself seem more alluring, but the story fails to dig in to the horrifying implications of how Bundy was able to succeed.” by The Atlantic culture writer David Sims.
So what makes the series Mindhunter more successful than Netflix’s attempts with Bundy? It could be the people the BSU study are very normal — they are the kind of people you wouldn’t think twice sitting next to on the tube. Whereas Ted Bundy was charismatic and intelligent, he is really easy to dislike. In the first season of Mindhunter, viewers are introduced to Edmund Kemper. Kemper was a serial killer in the early 70’s and was dubbed “The Co-Ed Killer”. His passion for killing actually started when he was 17-years-old and he murdered his grandparents.
Okay, I lied… we will have one small spoiler for season two. Most people just want to know who the show will focus on now. First up is Wayne Williams of Atlanta fame (although there is still debate upon his innocence). And second up is the famed BTK killer, Dennis Rader (he definitely did these things and wasn’t caught for THREE decades). But that’s all you’ll get from us at Trill!, we know better than to spoil something as glorious as a binge-able Netflix show.
There are so many serial killers this show could cover. And it’s kind of a morbid thought, but everyone has a “favourite” serial killer… just like everyone has a favourite burner on the stove-top, but no one admits that either. For this writer, I’d love to see Aileen Wuornos hit that Netflix screen — there is almost nothing scarier than a woman serial killer. Hit us in the comments and tell us what killer Mindhunter should feature over the next FIVE seasons.