Have you been waiting for Mindhunter season 3? Till last year, all we knew about the fate of Netflix’s Mindhunter was that it had been put on indefinite hold, however, your prayers have been answered and David Fincher has reportedly announced earlier this year that the series is returning for a third season.
The thing that sets Mindhunter apart from other crime stories is that it is based on real-life events and the fictional characters represent real FBI officers who worked endlessly to profile serial killers in the 1970s. All the serial killers discussed throughout the course of the nineteen episodes series are real human beings and the imminence of the profiling seems so apt even in today’s world.
While we all will be waiting for the third season to uncover the psychoanalysis behind BTK’s twisted mind, we do need similar shows to keep us engaged. This article houses a list of shows that you should watch if you loved Mindhunter.
While most of the shows on the list can be streamed online, cable enthusiasts should not lose heart. Channels like Investigation Discovery and Crime and Investigation keep on airing true-crime series all day long. If your cable plan does not have these channels included, you should switch to providers like Optimum cable that offer these channels in all of its plans.
Note: The shows are not mentioned in any particular order in this article.
1. Luther
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Psychological Thriller
- No. of seasons: 05
- No. of episodes: 20
- Creator: Neil Cross
- Main Cast: Idris Elba, Dermot Crowley, Ruth Wilson, Michael Smiley, Patrick Malahide
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 88%
Luther encircles the life of a man who has an insane obsession to catch a serial killer. Considered as one of the best crime dramas, Luther shares the same pizazz as that of Mindhunter and shows how the behavioral examination of serial killers can help solve other crimes.
2. Hannibal
- Genre: Psychological Thriller, Horror, Crime drama
- No. of seasons: 03
- No. of episodes: 39
- Developed by: Bryan Fuller
- Main Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 92%
Hannibal follows the same story as that of The Silence of the Lambs, but it is still among the best crime TV shows of all time. A criminal profiler, Will Graham, in hopes to better understand the criminal mind, starts forming a relationship with Hannibal Lecter, a renowned cannibal.
3. The killing
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
- No. of seasons: 04
- No. of episodes: 44
- Developed by: Veena Sud
- Main Cast: Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Michelle Forbes, Billy Campbell
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 68%
The Killing is a story about the murder of Rosie Larson and the after-events. The partnership between Holder and Linden resembles the love/hate relationship that we all cherished between Bill Tench and Holden Ford. While investigating the prime murder, the police unfold multiple other storylines that connect with the murder.
4. Dexter
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Dark Comedy
- No. of seasons: 08
- No. of episodes: 96
- Developed by: James Manos Jr.
- Main Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, James Remar, David Zayas
- IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 71%
Following the life of a bloodstain pattern expert, Dexter Morgan, this TV show is one of the best psychological crime shows. The thing about Dexter is that while he lends a helping hand to Miami PD to solve murders, he commits them too. The series focuses on the way Dexter commits murders and how he maps out his entire life around them.
5. Making a murderer
- Genre: True Crime, Documentary
- No. of seasons: 02
- No. of episodes: 20
- Director: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos
- IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 84%
Making a Murderer is a true crime story about Steven Avery who was locked up in prison for eighteen years, for a crime he did not commit. After his exoneration, he filed lawsuits against everyone involved in his unjust arrest, including the county. Soon after his release, he was again detained for the murder of Teresa Halbach.
6. The people v. O.J. Simpson: American crime story
- Genre: True Crime
- No. of seasons: 01
- No. of episodes: 10
- Director: Ryan Murphy, Anthony Hemingway, John Singleton
- Main Cast: Kenneth Choi, Sterling K. Brown, Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Schwimmer, Nathan Lane, John Travolta
- IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 97%
The American Crime Story is a dramatized version of true crimes and each season focuses on a single high-profile crime. The first season revolved around the arrest of American football running back, O.J. Simpson, for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. The series shows how the case became a national interest and was aired live on all major cable TV channels.
7. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
- Genre: Docuseries
- No. of seasons: 01
- No. of episodes: 04
- Director: Joe Berlinger
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 56%
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is the closest thing to Mindhunter. It shows the life and crimes of America’s most charming and notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. The docuseries compiles archival footage of all the instances Bundy was interviewed displaying how his mind worked.