"Most of them are pretty forgettable" is what the star of David Fincher's filmography is up there with some of the best modern directors, and his streak of hit after hit puts him in contention in the long list of best directors ever. Even if you find his interest in the macabre and gruesome unappetizing, you can't deny his artistry and strength of storytelling.

Rarely do directors of his caliber climb down from Mount Hollywood to work as a TV showrunner, so when they do, it's worth paying attention. Fincher rewarded loyal viewers with two seasons of the best show of the last 15 years. Mindhunter is based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, which tracks the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, and how critical, notorious and imprisoned serial killers were to that process. A fantastic series, Mindhunter was canceled after two short seasons.

Star Holt McCallany Believes Mindhunter Wasn't Forgettable Like Most Shows

McCallany Respects David Fincher, But Would Have Loved For The Show To Continue

After Mindhunter was canceled in early 2020, Holt McCallany, who plays special agent Bill Tench, a gruff but capable agent who is more pragmatic than his idealistic partner Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), had some things to say about the series. McCallany said (via AwardsDaily),

"Did I want Mindhunter to be canceled after two seasons? Uh, no, but that's not my decision. That's my friend David's (Fincher) decision. And if that's David's decision, that's David's decision. I understand, and I accept, and I move on. I remain grateful, and I mean this sincerely, for the opportunity to have made Lights Out, for the opportunity to have made Mindhunter, even if they didn't last as long as I might have hoped, I still got to be there, and I'm proud of the work that we did. You're talking about my two favorite projects. Let me prattle on just for five more seconds. I loved making those shows, and I can only hope that at some point in my career, there'll be something else that I feel as strongly about as I do about those two television series, because not all series are created equal. Let's face it. Most of them are pretty forgettable. I don't think you can say that about Mindhunter. And for the boxing fans and for the people out there who really love the fight game, I think the same can be said for Lights Out."

McCallany obviously had strong feelings about his time on Mindhunter and considered it an important experience in his career. The series currently has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for two Emmy Awards. It was a huge critical success, and arguably one of the best things McCallany ever appeared in. It makes sense that he would miss the time he spent with the series.

Mindhunter Was One Of The Best Crime Shows On TV, And It Was Still Canceled

Mindhunter Serves As An Explanation For Any Show Or Movie Involving A Serial Killer

Mindhunter was one of the best and most unique crime shows on television while it aired, and few of the crime series that came before it were comparable. There's nothing particularly novel about a crime show that features detectives or FBI agents going after serial killers, but what Mindhunter does is marry that classic genre with the endlessly fascinating, and true, story of how the FBI came to understand the behavior and psychology behind these mass killers. What Bill and Holden discover about serial killers is the bedrock of how we understand the psychology behind murder.

That's not to say that every single thing they did or determined ended up being correct, but their desire to look at killers from another perspective beyond finding clues at a crime scene, is behind not only actual criminal psychology and criminal profiling, but also helps explain countless serial killer plotlines on TV shows and in movies. It's like the prequel to every SVU episode or Scream movie. Not only that, but Mindhunter features a fantastic cast and Fincher's economical and tense directing and storytelling style.

David Fincher decided he wanted to pursue other projects, which is why Mindhunter was canceled.

He's the perfect fit for a show like this, where process is so vital. Watching detectives and scientists try and write the book about the psychology of criminals could have very easily been tedious. Thanks to Fincher, though, every bit of info gleamed, every vague connection made, and every unsettling piece of history uncovered feels more exciting than any cop shootout in a lesser show.

There Hasn't Been A Show Like Mindhunter Since The David Fincher Series Ended

Fincher Explored Killers To An Extent That Other Shows Are Unwilling To

Since Mindhunter ended in 2019, there have been no shows like it. There is no shortage of TV shows about serial killers, but even the most macabre of these don't have the stomach to tackle just why these killers behave the way they do. While Mindhunter never makes excuses for mass murderers, the story necessarily forces viewers to empathize with the serial killers it focuses on. If done incorrectly, that could go terribly wrong, but David Fincher has such a strong handle on tone and dialogue, he can pull it off.

There's also the fact that few shows would be willing to go so many episodes without having anything "happen", for lack of a better word.

There's also the fact that few shows would be willing to go so many episodes without having anything "happen", for lack of a better word. There are some fantastic and memorable moments in Mindhunter, but there isn't much that could be described as a major "moment" in the way of the shootout that suddenly takes place in True Detective season 1, episode 5, another serial killer-minded show. However, every moment of Mindhunter is still bewitching. Holt McCallany is right, there are few shows as memorable as Mindhunter.