Netflix's 19-Episode Psychological Thriller Deserves Even More Than Its 97% Score On Rotten Tomatoes

Published Aug 21, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant's TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year. With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel. When she's not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows. You can reach her at liz.h@screenrant.com. When it comes to Netflix's programming, the streaming juggernaut has developed a reputation for favoring quantity over quality, but once upon a time, it aired a psychological thriller series so good that not even a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score was high enough. Unlike today, back in the 2010s, Netflix was leading the charge in prestige streaming series, with acclaimed hits like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. However, while House of Cards' legacy was marred by its controversial lead actor and Orange Is the New Black's quality dwindled by the end of its run, Netflix's psychological thriller series, Mindhunter, was note-perfect throughout its run. Premiering in 2017 and backed by starry executive producers like Charlize Theron and David Fincher, Mindhunter begins in 1977, when the FBI Behavioral Science Unit has begun interviewing serial killers to better understand how their violent minds work. The series is a three-hander between agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), and psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). Engrossing, cinematic, and character-driven, Mindhunter is on par with Fincher's best movies, with season 1 earning a 96% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while season 2 scored 99%, for a combined total of 97%. However, the fact that it wasn't awarded a perfect 100% is almost as heartbreaking as Mindhunter season 3 getting canceled. Mindhunter Has 97% On Rotten Tomatoes, But Deserves 99-100% Mindhunter isn't just as good as a Fincher movie; it looks like a Fincher movie. Every frame of the series is shot in Fincher's cold, clinical style with a haunting score that ratchets up the tension without ever pulling focus from the Mindhunter cast's spectacular performances, particularly the main trio's. The series is also incredibly historically accurate, with Mindhunter making excellent use of its source material, the 1995 non-fiction book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Given Mindhunter's basis in real life and the nature of Ford and Tench's work, the show spends plenty of time on the psyches of real-life serial killers, including Edmund Kemper, Wayne Williams, Charles Manson, and the BTK Killer, subjects of intense fascination for many true-crime aficionados. However, unlike many crime shows today, including Netflix's highly controversial anthology series Monster, Mindhunter doesn't take a salacious, exploitative approach to its portrayal of serial killers and their crimes. The psychology comes first; not the violence. It's truly a show unlike anything else before or since, and if any Netflix show should have a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, it's Mindhunter. Mindhunter Is Still One Of Netflix's Worst Cancellations Netflix is rather trigger-happy when it comes to canceling low-performing shows. However, the premature end of Mindhunter still stings — especially with the series finale setting up the BTK Killer to be the focus of season 3. As a period show, Mindhunter was expensive to produce, and Netflix felt the series' viewership wasn't high enough. In theory, this is a justifiable reason for pulling the plug on a show. But Mindhunter wasn't just any show; it was edgy without being gratuitous, artistic without being inaccessible. Had Mindhunter been able to continue at Netflix, it very well may have joined shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad on pop culture's Mount Rushmore of the greatest crime dramas of all time. Sadly, it never had the chance to establish that legacy. Release Date 2017 - 2019 Network Netflix Showrunner Joe Penhall Cast Holt McCallany Bill Tench Directors David Fincher, Carl Franklin, Andrew Dominik, Andrew Douglas, Asif Kapadia, Tobias Lindholm Writers Joe Penhall, Jennifer Haley, Joshua Donen, Courtenay Miles, Carly Wray, Pamela Cederquist Creator(s) Joe Penhall